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Scientology Resources: Follow Me Down the Rabbit Hole

Whimsy
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Whimsy

Whimsy

Many of us have admitted to being sucked down the rabbit hole of reading and watching everything we can to understand just WHY people actually follow this cult.  I have seen comments from posters citing books, documentaries, articles, etc that I am interested in but am unable to write down and then have to scroll through pages and pages to find what I was looking for.  

So, here is a list of books, documentaries, television interviews, magazine articles, etc.   This isn’t a discussion thread, just a place to list them to make it easier to find.  I will update my post to include anything you guys add below.

Updated 9/1/2017

Books-

  • Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
  • Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill
  • Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me by Ron Miscavige and Dan Koon
  • The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper by Tony Ortega
  • Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright
  • Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion by Janet Reitman
  • Counterfeit Dreams: One Man's Journey Into and Out of the World of Scientology by Jefferson Hawkins
  • Blown for Good - Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology (BFG Paperback) by Marc Headley
  • Scientology - Abuse at the Top Abuse at the Top by Amy Scobee
  • Scientology: A to Xenu: An Insider's Guide to What Scientology is All About by Chris Shelton
  • Bare Faced Messiah by Russell Miller
  • The Church of Fear by John Sweeney
  • Fair Game by Steve Cannane
  • My Billion Year Contract by Nancy Many 
  • Memoirs of a Scientology Warrior by Marty Rathbun
  • What is Wrong with Scientology?: Healing Through Understanding by Marty Rathbun
  • A Piece of Blue Sky, by Jon Atack
  • A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology, and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today by Kate Bornstein

Articles-

Documentaries/Movies/TV Interviews-

Websites/YouTube Channels-

Podcasts-

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Whimsy
Whimsy

Many of us have admitted to being sucked down the rabbit hole of reading and watching everything we can to understand just WHY people actually follow this cult.  I have seen comments from posters citi

MaryMitch
MaryMitch

Concerning news about Mike Rinder:  

larapu2000
larapu2000

I'm 100% sure I'm never getting anything accomplished at work again thanks to all of these links!  I just finished Jenna Miscavage's book, I'm about to start Leah's, now you guys make me think I shoul

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itsadryheat

itsadryheat

Celebrity Scientology: Life (and Death) After Going Clear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp3mhx9gTMs

Scientology and the suicide of Jim Carrey’s girlfriend Cathronia White, as well as her connection to the church is exposed by journalist Tony Ortega. How Scientology has struggled to maintain connections to Hollywood celebrities, the upcoming tell-all book by Leah Remini, and the recent Scientology wedding of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s daughter that may have had Kidman banned from the ceremony is revealed. We also examine the success of HBO’s documentary exposé Going Clear, and if the film will get Oscars to accompany the Emmys that it has already collected--all in this uncensored Media Mayhem with Allison Hope Weiner.

Tony Ortega is the former executive editor of The Raw Story and The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and is the author of THE UNBREAKABLE MISS LOVELY, detailing the harassment of Paulette Cooper.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

00:01 Welcoming Tony Ortega to Media Mayhem.

04:14 Cathronia White’s relationship to Scientology and Jim Carrey.

09:40 Scientology’s overtures towards Jim Carrey.

14:00 The strange details of her death.

18:18 Was there pressure for White to enlist Jim Carrey?

23:30 Leah Remini and the book that could shake up Scientology.

25:23 Pressure against GOING CLEAR, and repression in the Oscar race.

28:31 Tom Cruise’s daughter weds in London--was Nicole Kidman banned from the Scientologist ceremony?

31:57 Wishful thinking of Tom Cruise breaking from Scientology?

35:26 Thanks and Goodbye!

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trow125

trow125

I'd also add Chris Shelton's YouTube channel - particularly his weekly "Critical Q&A" series, where he answers viewers' questions about Scientology, and his "What's Wrong with Scientology" series.

Also on YouTube, Tory Christman's "escape from Scientology" series is a must-listen if you're curious to find out what finally made a loyal longtime Scientologist finally leave the church and become one of its most outspoken critics. I also recommend the in-depth "Surviving Scientology" channel with Jeffrey Augustine. Jeffrey's interviews with prominent ex-Scientologists (including Ron Miscavige and many others) can also be downloaded on iTunes, Stitcher, etc.

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itsadryheat

itsadryheat

Lots On You Tube

ABC Nightline 2008 Apr 24 - Jenna Miscavige Hill Speaks Out

April 24 2008 - ABC's nightline interviews Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of David Miscavige.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Tjt2vt_6s

CNN: Anderson Cooper 360 Scientology Allegations of Abuse1: What's The Truth - YouTube

High-ranking Scientologists dispute their ex-spouses' claims of abuse by the church's leader. Anderson Cooper has more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEwIb1ljMDY

Scientology Secrets, Slaves and Mind Control with Insider Tory Christman - YouTube

Scientology former insider Tory Christman tells all about celebrities, slaves in the sea org, forced abortions, David Miscavige and L. Ron Hubbard in this shocking interview spanning her 30 year commitment to the church. From brainwashing, silencing free speech and using the mob to strong arm their message on the internet, we learn the lengths Scientology goes to preserve their image and their wealth, and why they continue to lose members.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ihGTwPQE54

John Travolta talks Scientology on Charlie Rose (1999) - YouTube

An interview with John Travolta on L. Ron Hubbard, Battlefield Earth and his belief in scientology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLBT1Qo4LRI

Some Crazy Scientology Stuff - YouTube

Mike Rinder (a big shot in the cult) lies to camera in regards to the churches policy on celebrities. Hubbard specifically had policies on how to recruit celebrities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgqKA3w6T2U

Tom Cruise's Heated Interview With Matt Lauer - YouTube

On June 23, 2005, Tom Cruise joined Matt Lauer to discusses his new film "War Of The Worlds," his new relationship with Katie Holmes, and Scientology.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFgF1JPNR5E

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Slovenly Muse

Slovenly Muse

I can also recommend Kate Bornstein's memoir, whose full title is "A Queer and Pleasant Danger: The true story of a nice Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology, and leaves twelve years later to become the lovely lady she is today"

It is really about Kate's life as a whole and her struggles with being transgender, her borderline personality disorder, eating disorder, self-harm ("cutting"), experiences with BDSM, etc, so it deals with some heavy topics, but as Kate is a skilled entertainer, it never really feels too dark. Her story is powerfully about her experiences in Scientology, which she joined when she was fairly young (back when she was still trying to live as a boy) seeking a way to "suppress" and "conquer" the "unhealthy" feelings of femininity that confused and frightened her. She (or, I suppose "he" at the time) joined the Sea Org and served on LRH's vessel, and talks about what it was like serving alongside "The Commodore" himself... and the incredible incident that caused her to finally turn from the "church."

It's not your typical Scientology expose, in that it is a memoir that is not 100% focused on the Co$, but Kate's experiences in the Co$ (and personal experiences with LRH) are absolutely fascinating, and explore the angle of homosexuality and queer identity in the Co$, as well as the struggles of those like Kate who may want to abandon the Co$, but are also afraid of discrimination and rejection from their families and the world OUTSIDE the Co$ due to their sexuality. It's not a highly-polished and Pulitzer-ready work, but it's unique and personal, and an insightful examination of cult-mentality and the thinking (and fears) that can drive people to live in ways that are harmful to their own happiness. It may not be for everyone, but you'll never read another Scientology-related book like it!

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wendyg

wendyg

(edited)

Both of John Sweeney's BBC Panorama documentaries are on YouTube. The first, Scientology and Me, features a famous clip the CoS posted to try to discredit him, in which he blows up at the two PRs detailed to ensure he got the right story. One of these was Mike Rinder, the other Tommy Davis. The CoS also fielded several celebrity spokespeople for interviews: Mimi Rogers, Kirstie Alley, Juliette Lewis, and Leah Remini. A couple of years later, Sweeney did a follow-up, The Secrets of Scientology, which featured Rinder, who had left by then, and who told the behind-the-scenes story of Sweeney's previous documentary from the CoS side. The book Church of Fear tells the story of both documentaries.

There is much prior art from earlier decades. The first book ever written about the CoS was by Paulette Cooper in the 1960s; she was framed on a drugs charge as an early example of "Fair Game". There were two very skeptical biographies of Hubbard in the 1980s called Messiah or Madman? and Bare-Faced Messiah. There are prior books by defected Scientologiests such as Jon Atack.

I would, however, draw your attention to two pieces you can access online.

The first is 1987's Time magazine piece, "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", by Richard Behar. The article cost Time $10 million and seven years (or possibly $7 million and 10 years...) to defend against the resulting CoS litigation. There's a copy here: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/time-behar.html

The other, "alt.scientology.war", is from 1994/1995, and appeared in Wired. It tells the story of Scientology's first skirmishes with the Net when disaffected former Scientologists began posting the secret documents (the ones Remini talks about in "The Bridge") online for all to see. It is not so well-known now, but the notice-and-takedown rules we all still live by were developed because of this particular series of incidents. It's here: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.12/alt.scientology.war_pr.html

That article ends with this quote, from a former head Scientology PR: "The Internet will be Scientology's Vietnam". I would argue that what we're seeing now with all these high-level defections is less the result of the Hole and other abuses (because the older books suggest there have always been abuses) than it is of the Internet. Remini's autobiography (which I reviewed for Skeptical Inquirer) says the first thing that gave her pause was that no one would tell her what had happened to David Miscavige's wife, who had disappeared from view, and they told her she shouldn't be asking. She's recorded telling Sweeney she never looked at the Internet...but now she *did*, and what she found was the kind of criticism and discussion that Scientology tried to hide or chase off the Net back in 1995. The other recent defectors' stories I've read also talk about the Internet: it didn't make them ask their first questions, but when they *did* start having questions it gave them access to a wealth of alternative views that could have and would have been kept from them in earlier decades.

So I believe the Internet has played a crucial role in all this, just as Vaughan Young predicted in 1994.

Edited by wendyg
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Whimsy

Whimsy

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I've updated the first post to include stuff I didn't already have.  I am not updating the first post with stuff that's linked directly to other sites, ie, everything individually on Tony Ortega's site.  I linked the actual site.  Keep the suggestions coming!

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zxy556575

zxy556575

(edited)

You Tube channel from Aaron Smith Levin, who is featured on tonight's show: Growing Up in Scientology.

Sample videos:

  • What Really Goes On at Scientology's Narconon Facilities
  • IAS Predatory Fundraising Tactics
  • Tom Cruise kicks his 14-year old niece out the family
  • Scientology Private Schools & Sea Org Recruitment
Edited by lordonia
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larapu2000

larapu2000

I'm 100% sure I'm never getting anything accomplished at work again thanks to all of these links!  I just finished Jenna Miscavage's book, I'm about to start Leah's, now you guys make me think I should also read Mark Headley's book, but in the meantime, someone else suggested reading a particular book about FLDS (Mormons) and THAT is riveting.  And none of this is any of the online resources you guys have linked here.

I have a cultish devotion to cults.

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Whimsy

Whimsy

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1 hour ago, larapu2000 said:

I'm 100% sure I'm never getting anything accomplished at work again thanks to all of these links!  I just finished Jenna Miscavage's book, I'm about to start Leah's, now you guys make me think I should also read Mark Headley's book, but in the meantime, someone else suggested reading a particular book about FLDS (Mormons) and THAT is riveting.  And none of this is any of the online resources you guys have linked here.

I have a cultish devotion to cults.

While not linked, per se, the books by Leah, Jenna and Marc Headley are all in the list in the top post.  I, myself, am limiting the amount of time I can follow these links both for the time-sucking potential and for the fact that after awhile my brain starts to completely fry thinking about this stuff.  

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fastiller

fastiller

3 hours ago, larapu2000 said:

I have a cultish devotion to cults.

Ooh, I'm wondering if there's a way to leverage that into $$$ for us here at the p.tv.  We can create a cult specifically devoted to studying cults.  We'll ask for $$$ for 'auditing' various types of cults, and promise enlightenment once the victim, er, adherent reaches C$ (Cult $tatu$) IX (one better than Co$).

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wendyg

wendyg

(edited)

GenL: I wish you'd add alt.scientology.war to the resources list. Most of what's in it isn't in the other sources (but it was meticulously researched!)

Edited by wendyg
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Whimsy

Whimsy

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On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 1:00 PM, wendyg said:

GenL: I wish you'd add alt.scientology.war to the resources list. Most of what's in it isn't in the other sources (but it was meticulously researched!)

Done!

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Singingflutist

Singingflutist

Synopsis from Wikipedia: (oh it isn't being released in North America until March):

 

 After the Church of Scientology refuses to cooperate in making a documentary, Louis Theroux teams up with former senior church official Marty Rathbun to create dramatic reconstructions of incidents within the church witnessed by Rathbun and other ex-Scientologists. They focus in particular on alleged violent behaviour by the church's leader David Miscavige at its secretive Gold Base facility in California, which Theroux visits. The church retaliates by putting Theroux and his film crew under surveillance, leading to camera-wielding confrontations with a Scientology "squirrel buster" team and with church officials outside Gold Base. Theroux raises questions about Rathbun's own former complicity in the church's "terroristic" activities, leading to tensions between the two men.[5][6][7]

Rotten tomatoes page on my Scientology movie:

 

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_scientology_movie/

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Singingflutist

Singingflutist

7 minutes ago, Singingflutist said:

Trailers

 

Synopsis from Wikipedia: (oh it isn't being released in North America until March):

 

 After the Church of Scientology refuses to cooperate in making a documentary, Louis Theroux teams up with former senior church official Marty Rathbun to create dramatic reconstructions of incidents within the church witnessed by Rathbun and other ex-Scientologists. They focus in particular on alleged violent behaviour by the church's leader David Miscavige at its secretive Gold Base facility in California, which Theroux visits. The church retaliates by putting Theroux and his film crew under surveillance, leading to camera-wielding confrontations with a Scientology "squirrel buster" team and with church officials outside Gold Base. Theroux raises questions about Rathbun's own former complicity in the church's "terroristic" activities, leading to tensions between the two men.[5][6][7]

Rotten tomatoes page on my Scientology movie:

 

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/my_scientology_movie/

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Diane Mars

Diane Mars

(edited)
23 minutes ago, Singingflutist said:

Has anyone else watched "my Scientology movie" by Louis Theroux and BBC. It's interesting.

Yes, did it yesterday evening... Found it on the web, searching for a torrent (edit : and still have it on my computer)...

As I said in another topic : "For my part I found it [...] really interesting, disturbing also, regarding Rathburn.... But I had a "problem" to enter in it and understand the "goal" of recruiting comedians... I didn't understand if it was a real casting, a reenaction of a demonstration of how you can "dive" into it or an "experiment". But it was interesting to watch, yes !"
 

Edited by Diane Mars
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Arynm

Arynm

There is a show on ID channel tomorrow called Scientology: A Students Descent. I know nothing about it but the tag says:

"A devout member of the Church of Scientology becomes a spy and gets caught up in the organization's war against its critics."

I didn't see this listed above so it might be interesting, I have it set to record on the DVR and will report back

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AndreaK1041

AndreaK1041

I started listening to another podcast yesterday called Surviving Scientology. The production values are terrible, but there are interviews with Mike Rinder, Ron Miscavige, Claire Headley, etc. that we have all come to know through Leah's show.  It's not bad for background noise during a walk.

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Sew Sumi

Sew Sumi

Totally by accident, the other day I stumbled on a one-off (can't even remember the show's name) which detailed the escape of Marty Rathbun. This was from 2014, so not that old. It detailed everything we know and  included interviews with Claire Headley, who was his right-hand person in the organization (that I did NOT know). Most of it was re-enactments (they made Miscavige brunette and tall LOL), but it had enough of Rathbun's footage, a lot of it, including the Squirrel Patrol, that was in the 20/20 expose, to legitimize it. It also makes me wonder what really made Rathbun go back. Did they just wear him down with the Fair Gaming over the past few years? Or, as some suspect, was he paid off to (now) keep silent? 

I just found this a VERY strange juxtoposition to what we found out about Rathbun's current status in the COS and am sick that someone who endured such abuse, then escaped it...twice...was pressured into returning to the fold. 

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jenrising

jenrising

(edited)

If you watch My Scientology Movie, you can see it. Marty left because of his time in the hole, not because he didn't believe anymore. He's very defensive about talking about some things, he's puffing out his chest about how powerful he was. He also seems to have the most problem with Miscavige in particular. And he's clearly very troubled. It's sad, and hopefully he'll find his way out again. 

Unless he's going undercover??? or more likely hoping to be the new, less evil Miscavige. 

Edited by jenrising
Fixed some word salad.
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Glade

Glade

(edited)
On 1/8/2017 at 7:13 AM, Singingflutist said:

Has anyone else watched "my Scientology movie" by Louis Theroux and BBC. It's interesting.

I watched it recently, and tbh I was bored out of my mind for most of the film.  I could see casting DM and TC if they were 'The Yes Men' and planned to go out and pull outlandish pranks on COS, but this was just a lot of nothing, especailly after already seeing 'Going Clear.'

Edited by Glade
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juliet73

juliet73

On 1/12/2017 at 10:23 AM, Arynm said:

There is a show on ID channel tomorrow called Scientology: A Students Descent. I know nothing about it but the tag says:

"A devout member of the Church of Scientology becomes a spy and gets caught up in the organization's war against its critics."

I didn't see this listed above so it might be interesting, I have it set to record on the DVR and will report back

I recorded it and watched it today. The synopsis is a bit misleading. Ex Scientologist Nancy Many talks about what drew her in, her years in the Sea Org, "serving time" in the RPF while pregnant,  trying to leave Scientology, etc. It was similar in format to the one about Marty Rathbun. I recommend watching both. 

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laurakaye

laurakaye

Finally started watching "Going Clear," got the DVD from my library.

The Scientology music video??  I didn't know whether to laugh or hide under the blankets.  Seeing Rathbun, Rinder and Miscavige (ironic) all bopping their heads to the beat of "We Stand Tall" was just all sorts of weird.

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Meadow

Meadow

5 hours ago, laurakaye said:

The Scientology music video??  I didn't know whether to laugh or hide under the blankets.  Seeing Rathbun, Rinder and Miscavige (ironic) all bopping their heads to the beat of "We Stand Tall" was just all sorts of weird.

You are going to love this!
 

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tchaikca

tchaikca

I'm quite embarrassed to admit that I found myself humming that damned "we stand tall" for a few weeks after watching Going Clear. (It's vaguely catchy...in an 80's music video kind of way). Plus the Cosby sweaters on the "performers" are precious ! 

 

Love the SNL spoof....can't stop watching it!!!

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Rlb8031

Rlb8031

I was listening to the Surviving Scientology podcast with Claire Headley and came away with all kinds of interesting tidbits that weren't included in Leah's interview

1) DM had not been audited since 1993. 

2) Claire was actually the 3rd highest ranking official at the Hemet base. She worked directly for Shelly Miscavage. That puts a completely different spin on the tension between she and Mark over her KRing him.

Not from her interview, but from another - the local Orgs pay 100% of the costs for those glitzy programs that occur 5 times a year. This money is in addition to what they are expected to send to the international org on a weekly basis. If international doesn't get their expected payout, they cut the amount sent back to pay salaries ($46 per week net) and for food. SeaOrg members said it wasn't unusual to get 1/2 or 1/4 wages multiple weeks or to get only rice and beans weekly because their payout was short. The church also sends regular communications to the local orgs that they are in a financial crisis and need to step up the $s. This is why the $1b+ in funds is such a big deal. Church members do not know about these funds and regularly are told the church is in danger of going under.

And the re-issuance of LRH books and papers? It was done to maintain the copyright so that the Church continues to collect royalties on every book, video, pamphlet, etc. that was authored by LRH. They have a whole arm of the church that is in place to collect royalties on all materials.

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Baltimore Betty

Baltimore Betty

My dentist has been taking part in a management training program in Florida, the hygienist confided in me that it is connected to Scientology, I checked out the website and sure enough there is mention of LRH and Scientology, it really makes me uneasy about this dentist who I have known for more than 25 years.  His current girlfriend (the one that he cheated on his wife with) wants nothing to do with it and the hygienist refuses to go to any of the training sessions.  The Scientology tentacles seem to reach in to all facets of life even non spiritually.

The funny thing is, I work for a dental consulting firm, we are 10 min. from his office, they must be promising him the moon and stars.

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