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 We have another fun discovery found in a Freedom of Information Act request made by a friend to the Underground Bunker. Her request pried loose documents gathered by the Food and Drug Administration during its long investigation of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology.
In the late 1950s, the FDA had become concerned about the health claims being made by Hubbard for his auditing processes with “e-meters.” About 100 of the machines were seized when the FDA raided the Washington DC church in 1963, and inspectors continued to gather information about Hubbard as they prepared for what turned out to be a prolonged court fight. (In 1971 the case was settled when Scientology agreed to put a disclaimer on all e-meters that it was not a device for medical diagnosis.) About a month after the raid, the FDA looked into an interesting lead: Five years earlier, in 1958, Scientology had been probed by the US Secret Service on a request from then Vice President Richard Nixon — and the reason why is pretty wild. Continue reading When Richard Nixon ordered the Secret Service to investigate Scientology
Last May, in a small Arkansas town, a sheriff’s deputy arrived at a large house to help an ambulance crew with an unusual call. He went into the basement of the house, which had a ground floor entry, and on the stairway leading to the kitchen on the next floor there was a woman sitting on the stairs. Continue reading The shocking case of Scientology mistreatment of the mentally ill you haven’t heard
 We’re getting reports from around the country that Scientology’s “Age of Answers” ad has already been airing today on Super Sunday.
We figure it’s only going to pick up as the game itself nears. Earlier today, we weren’t certain which ad the church was going to use for its Sunday blitz, but then we received a leaked message from one of our tipsters indicating that it would be “Age of Answers,” a slick Apple Computer-like spot that Scientology posted to its YouTube channel in October, and that we described in November. Continue reading About that Scientology ad you saw on TV before and during the Super Bowl
UPDATE: We have a new leak from Scientology that suggests the church will be airing its “Age of Answers” ad from October as its commercial during the Super Bowl, and it will occur at halftime. See the update, below.
Ah, Super Sunday, when, for the past few years, the Church of Scientology has caused a Twitter freakout by placing its creepy TV ads in certain markets during the big game. Scientology leader David Miscavige has been on a media buying blowout, placing full-page ads in USA Today and the New York Times, and paying for web ads in every conceivable place lately. Miscavige is scrambling to deal with his latest crisis, in this case the imminent airing of Alex Gibney’s documentary, Going Clear, on HBO on March 16. Continue reading Super Sunday Funnies: Will you get to see Scientology’s ad during the big game today?
 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He has a new edition of the book for sale, and for more than a year on Saturdays he helped us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet. He was kind enough to send us a new post.
Jon, we’ve wondered about the earliest group around L. Ron Hubbard when he published Dianetics, and where were the results of this research he had supposedly done before the book came out. As you point out, we thoroughly went through the book and were pretty surprised by its claims about how easily it would be to create Clears. And so we’re very excited that you’re taking a close look at that period and the claims Hubbard made for Clear and later “OT.” Take it away! Continue reading Jon Atack: Scientology’s elusive ‘Clears’ and ‘Operating Thetans’ — where have they been?
 While we’ve been bowled over by the response to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear’ — and it’s only going to get more intense as its HBO air date of March 16 nears — we’re still in the process here at the Underground Bunker of releasing rare video from another Scientology documentary altogether.
Today, we have our third leak of original, raw footage from Channel 4’s excellent 1997 program, Secret Lives — L. Ron Hubbard. Continue reading Another Secret Lives leak: L. Ron Hubbard enjoyed humiliating people under hypnosis
 One of our sources, who has connections both among Church of Scientology members and those who have been expelled from the organization, thought we would like to see how people on the inside are talking about Alex Gibney’s film Going Clear.
So far, there have only been two public screenings of the film, so only a few hundred human beings have actually seen it, but the press reaction has been massive. Much of that press interest has centered on the official reaction from the church, which has been as hamfisted and embarrassing as we might have predicted. Continue reading How Scientologists are dealing with the buzz around Alex Gibney’s ‘Going Clear’
 Wow, it’s been fun to hang out at the Sundance Film Festival and be a part of the Going Clear screenings. We’re certain there will be plenty more to come about the movie and Scientology’s hamfisted attempts to smear it.
But for now we need to get back to the regular work of this website, reporting on all aspects of Scientology with the help of our great tipsters. We have some really big stories coming that we can’t wait to land. And we’re getting a back up on all the stuff we’ve been sent by our sources. Continue reading Scientology secrets in government docs: Did the feds have a chance to stop ‘Snow White’?
Author Lawrence Wright and director Alex GibneyAlex Gibney’s HBO documentary about Scientology, Going Clear, had its second public showing last night at the Sundance Film Festival, and we got another chance to think about what’s in it and what makes it so compelling. Continue reading Why Alex Gibney’s ‘Going Clear’ is scaring the crap out of Scientology
 Yesterday morning, we told you which eight former Scientologists we guessed were interviewed for Alex Gibney’s documentary Going Clear, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival later that day.
Turns out we went eight for eight. How’d the church do? A sad one for six. Continue reading Scientology hits back at Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear’ with predictable smears
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We have another fun discovery found in a Freedom of Information Act request made by a friend to the Underground Bunker. Her request pried loose documents gathered by the Food and Drug Administration during its long investigation of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology.
