Louis Theroux’s showdown with Scientology over a public road: The nutty new chapter

One of the best things about Louis Theroux’s funny 2015 film, My Scientology Movie, was how unflappably polite he was while he argued with Sea Org official Catherine Fraser over a frontage road at Scientology’s secretive “Int Base” and whether it was a public street or not.

Continue reading Louis Theroux’s showdown with Scientology over a public road: The nutty new chapter

He was Scientology’s most famous spy, then he turned witness and vanished. Now, here he is.

[L. Ron Hubbard and his wife Mary Sue — undone by Snow White]

In 2014, while we were working on our book about Paulette Cooper, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, we got a fascinating break.

Continue reading He was Scientology’s most famous spy, then he turned witness and vanished. Now, here he is.

Defeated in court, L. Ron Hubbard’s son boasted about spreading lies in new FBI document

[Ron DeWolf and his grandson, Jamie]

Journalist Emma Best, at the Muckrock website, has convinced the FBI to cough up even more documents about the Church of Scientology, and in the latest batch there’s a pretty interesting 15-page letter written by Ron DeWolf to the IRS in 1985.

Continue reading Defeated in court, L. Ron Hubbard’s son boasted about spreading lies in new FBI document

For the first time: The FBI file of Gabe Cazares, the Clearwater mayor targeted by Scientology

[Gabe Cazares in 1997]

On August 3, 1976, Gabe Cazares, the Texas-born mayor of Clearwater, Florida, contacted the FBI with a complaint about a letter that had been mailed to several Florida Democratic Party officials.

Continue reading For the first time: The FBI file of Gabe Cazares, the Clearwater mayor targeted by Scientology

DOX: An inside look at how Scientology gets what it wants at ‘Ideal Org’ events

[David Miscavige in San Diego]

On November 19, 2016, Scientology held the grand opening for its San Diego “Ideal Org” after years of missteps and miscalculations on where to build its new gleaming cathedral there.

Continue reading DOX: An inside look at how Scientology gets what it wants at ‘Ideal Org’ events

A close up look at how human rights abuser Scientology is touting human rights as a front

Rod Keller gives us a detailed look at how one Scientology front is having its sneaky ways exposed by a determined activist.

Continue reading A close up look at how human rights abuser Scientology is touting human rights as a front

DID BOB BLOW? Evidence that Scientology may have lost its biggest donor of all time

[Bob Duggan, illustration by Chad Essley]

In case you didn’t notice it, we were actually pretty gobsmacked by a photo that we showed you last week. That photo provided the first hard evidence of something we’d been hearing for quite some time — that the richest Scientologists in the world, Bob and Trish Duggan, were splitting up.

Continue reading DID BOB BLOW? Evidence that Scientology may have lost its biggest donor of all time

A grim anniversary that should remind us Scientology has no business ‘testing’ anyone

[Vitkovic, mid-massacre]

On December 8, 1987 — 30 years ago today — a 22-year-old man named Frank Vitkovic went looking for a former friend he wanted to kill.

Continue reading A grim anniversary that should remind us Scientology has no business ‘testing’ anyone

KID CORPS: When Scientology’s Sea Org parents were told to stop wasting time on their kids

Like anything else in Scientology, how children are treated is governed by a huge number of policies and reports, and in this series we’re looking at documents that show how children were treated under the ideas of L. Ron Hubbard. We’re fortunate that one man has done so much to collect huge numbers of such documents — Mark “Warrior” Plummer, who left Scientology in 1983, and is pretty legendary for the collection of church materials he’s amassed. Also helping us is Sunny Pereira, who spent several weeks working with Mark to pull out key documents for us to discuss.

Continue reading KID CORPS: When Scientology’s Sea Org parents were told to stop wasting time on their kids

Why is it so hard for governments to crack down on the Church of Scientology?

[Scientology mobilizing against a 1986 court case in Los Angeles]

Yesterday, historian Chris Owen reminded us of a government raid on Scientology that has largely been forgotten. Today, he discusses the lessons to be learned when, after that raid, Scientology once again beat the rap. (Also, make sure you didn’t miss our second story yesterday, about the latest Danny Masterson news.)

Continue reading Why is it so hard for governments to crack down on the Church of Scientology?

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