Scientology Studies | The Underground Bunker

‘Growing Up in Scientology’ project launches with a new tale about John Travolta

[Credit: John Russo]

In April, we announced a new project by Aaron Smith-Levin and Nick Lister. The two former Church of Scientology members were planning a YouTube channel that would feature the stories they felt were left out of Alex Gibney’s movie Going Clear — the stories of young people who had grown up […]

LIVE REPORTS: Scientology leader David Miscavige opens “Ideal Org” in Colombia today

Scientology leader David Miscavige is scheduled to open the latest “Ideal Org” today, this time in Bogotá, Colombia, and we have a correspondent on the scene.

It’s been less than three months since Miscavige opened an Ideal Org in Basel, Switzerland, which is a much faster pace than he set the last two years. (There was […]

Scientology’s billion-dollar slush fund, its slick operators, and how it gets around regulation

Prepare for Jeffrey Augustine to blow your mind as he takes us on another deep dive into Scientology’s finances, this time laying bare the IAS slush fund even more than he did last time. We think you’ll find this is Jeff’s best piece yet!

As discussed previously, the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) is not a […]

How to read a tabloid magazine story about the Church of Scientology: A primer

Four years ago, we set out on this adventure to report about Scientology every day. And one of the results of that experiment is the amazing community that has built up around the Bunker. We set out to create a place where Scientology could be discussed, but without the wild rumors and mistaken myths that […]

Is David Miscavige really planning to extend Scientology’s ‘Bridge’?

We don’t always see the newest issue of the Freewinds, a Scientology publication that gets passed around a little less often than Impact or Celebrity or International Scientology News. […]

Scientology leader’s father signs a book deal, for ‘IF HE DIES, HE DIES’

Ron Miscavige Sr., 79, the father to reclusive Scientology leader David Miscavige, 55, has signed a deal with major publisher St. Martin’s Press to issue his book about his son and Scientology titled “If He Dies, He Dies.”

The title is a reference to a now infamous story that came out in the Los Angeles Times […]

Augustine: Taking a hard look at Scientology’s slush fund, the unlicensed and unregulated IAS

We’ve been on the road with our appearance yesterday in Clearwater, but thankfully, our friend Jeffrey Augustine sent in another of his deep dives into the weird world of Scientology infrastructure. Take us down the rabbit hole again, Jeff…

In our last article, we showed that the word “Scientologist” is a collective membership mark used by […]

Jefferson Hawkins on how Scientology closes minds — a new podcast

After we posted yesterday’s story about how Mike Rinder and I had learned that we had each been victimized by the same private investigator, Eric Saldarriaga, I received an invitation form the US Attorney’s Office to speak at Saldarriaga’s sentencing today.

I decided to take it. The sentencing happens at 2 pm, and we are looking […]

Nora Crest in Toronto: Growing up in Scientology means indoctrination from birth

We had to leave the Toronto Scientology conference to deal with some changes back here in New York, but Jonny Jacobsen remained, and submitted this account of Nora Crest’s presentation on Wednesday.

Nora Crest gave a sharp, funny and at times moving account of what it is like to grow up inside Scientology. She was born […]

A rundown on the truth being delivered at the Toronto Scientology conference

It was a real highlight for us to meet for the first time a frequent contributor to the Underground Bunker, former Sea Org worker Chris Shelton. We asked him to give us a report about his first day speaking at the Toronto conference yesterday. Here’s what he sent […]

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