|
|
 Jefferson Hawkins is a man who is very well known to our readership. We’re big fans of his terrific book about his experiences as a Scientologist, Counterfeit Dreams. We learn in that book how Jeff was Scientology’s top marketing expert, and was responsible for the famous “volcano” television commercials of the 1980s that helped the organization reach its greatest extent.
Hawkins is also known for another book, Leaving Scientology, which has proved to be a valuable asset for people trying to adjust from life in Scientology (especially in its controlling “Sea Org”) to the modern world. Continue reading Jefferson Hawkins provides Scientology a way to happiness that actually works
 We’ve been getting reports from readers that Scientology has been running a television ad in prominent places in the last week or so. The ad appeared before one of the NFL playoff games this weekend, and we heard that it also ran yesterday during a showing of The View and the Ellen Degeneres Show.
That’s consistent with the way the church has done things over the last few years, as it has started out each new year with multiple showings of a new ad leading up to the Super Bowl. Continue reading The new Scientology ad running on TV — and maybe for the Super Bowl
 Ryan Hamilton has filed yet another federal fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon. This makes 26 lawsuits he’s filed just since last February, and none of them has been dismissed (although a number of them have been settled or are in mediation).
Once again, Hamilton has filed a lawsuit on behalf of someone who paid for drug counseling at the Narconon Fresh Start facility in Caliente, Nevada, known as Rainbow Canyon Retreat. Continue reading Ryan Hamilton makes it 26 lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab scheme
 Over the past year and a half, former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder has made himself into the best expert on the current health of the organization. At his great blog, Mike leaks internal data (some of it very arcane and inside) in order to document what many of us have been saying for several years — Scientology is dying, and fast.
With a new year starting, Jeffrey Augustine asked Rinder to sit down for another Surviving Scientology podcast, which we’re premiering here. Continue reading Former spokesman Mike Rinder describes Scientology’s dismal options in 2015
 Barry Coziahr It’s our first Sunday of 2015, and that means it’s time to start another year of Sunday Funnies! Each week, we bring you the best Scientology fundraising fliers that have been forwarded to us by our great tipsters. This week, one of our readers noticed that a Phoenix event was being promoted in a flier posted to Twitter. (More and more, Scientologists are using social media — if you happen to spot something on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter, please send it our way!) Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Scientology now selling the idea it solved the Ferguson crisis
 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 has previously talked about how long it can take a former Scientologist to recover after the years of indoctrination laid in during auditing. But why does it take so much time? In this piece, Atack suggests that a quicker recovery is possible — but only if a former church member can see clearly how L. Ron Hubbard’s ideas were so empty to begin with. Take it away, Jon. Continue reading Jon Atack: What it’s like for the Scientologist who gives up the dream of being superhuman
With the Ideal Org program stalled (Nancy Cartwright just can’t seem to raise enough dough to put the Valley project over the hump) and Scientology leader David Miscavige’s other big surprises all worn out, this New Year’s Eve announcement was one of Scientology’s most underwhelming ever.
You see, Miscavige is really stuck in a bad situation now. It’s been nearly 29 years since the old man dropped his body, so no new “technology” is coming from L. Ron Hubbard, wherever he is. Meanwhile, there’s massive disillusionment among the rank and file, who are sick of being hit up for donations and told about “massive expansion” when in reality the church is dwindling fast. Continue reading LEAKED RENDERINGS: What Scientology’s (post-KCET) new media center will look like
 Filming was still going on just a few weeks ago on the Louis Theroux BBC feature about Scientology, so we don’t expect it to be in theaters for some time yet. But now we do have a glimpse, at least, of what BBC Films says its movie is going to be about.
In an online catalog, a complete two-page spread is devoted to Theroux and his documentary, which now has a title: Stairway to Heaven: Louis Theroux and the Church of Scientology. Continue reading First look at Louis Theroux’s BBC film on Scientology: ‘Stairway to Heaven’
 Our own TheHoleDoesNotExist, a longtime contributor to the Bunker community, hostess to a special 2013 party in Clearwater, and also the impresario behind the Bunker’s theme song, surprised us by sending in a story she hasn’t shared publicly in its entirety before.
THDNE was interviewed by Lawrence Wright for his epic 2013 history of Scientology, Going Clear, for what turned out to be a very brief mention in the book. Over pages 128 to 134, Wright describes the troubled life of Quentin Hubbard, son of Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard. Wright explains that Hubbard wanted his son to help take over management of the church from him, but Quentin himself had dreams of being a pilot. Continue reading A Scientology untold history special report: ‘My lunch with Quentin Hubbard’
 And so 2015 begins here in the Underground Bunker. We want to thank our great commenter community for a wild build-up to this moment. And now, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate what we think is going to be a really exciting month of January.
The big event, of course, will take place in Utah on January 25. We’re starting a countdown to that big day when Alex Gibney’s HBO documentary, Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Faith, opens at the Sundance Film Festival. Continue reading Happy New Year 2015 — now the real Scientology countdown begins!
|
Jefferson Hawkins is a man who is very well known to our readership. We’re big fans of his terrific book about his experiences as a Scientologist, Counterfeit Dreams. We learn in that book how Jeff was Scientology’s top marketing expert, and was responsible for the famous “volcano” television commercials of the 1980s that helped the organization reach its greatest extent. 
