Crash (2004)

Scientology on the High Seas: Hubbard Welcomes the New Meat!

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we'r ... More >>

More Scientology Miracles! And L. Ron Hubbard Tells You How to Make a Slave

Fellow Scientology watchers, we're working on several big stories for you. In fact, we went out of town this weekend on a fact-finding mission, and we are planning to tell you about that soon. But for now, those stories aren't quite ready. In the meantime, we were so happy to see how popular was Mo ... More >>

Scientology and the Occult: Hugh Urban's New Exploration of L. Ron Hubbard and Aleister Crowley

The Rosy Cross, appropriated in a similar form by Crowley and OTO​Last June, we brought you the first review of The Church of Scientology: A History of a New Religion by Ohio State professor Hugh Urban, and then the first interview with the good professor himself. During that interview, Urban ... More >>

Scientology Hip Hop: The Melbourne Day Rap Battle Team! (UPDATED)

We can't get enough of Scientology's rap videos. The latest comes to us from Melbourne, which has been stepping up its game in a big way lately. We recently published mailers from the Melbourne Ideal Org as it celebrated its first anniversary with parties that looked like they were off the hook. Bu ... More >>

Scientology's OT Powers! A Hubbard Holiday Miracle

Scientology watchers, we have a special treat for you this holiday Monday. Recently, one of our readers who is a longtime former Scientologist mailed us a treasure trove: Copies of early Advance! magazines, a complete run from issue 11 in 1971 to issue 56 in 1979. (That's L. Ron Hubbard's photo of ... More >>

Scientology Campout: Commenters of the Week!

It never seems to be a quiet week here in the underground bunker where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. The cats had barely settled down from our brief trip to Texas when the bat signal on the Antipodean circuits went off, alerting us to an imminent bombshell. But let's not get ahe ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: LRH on the "Wogworld!"

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we'r ... More >>

Scientology's Secret Ranch: Where LRH Will Reincarnate?

Last week, we had a bit of fun publishing detailed maps to Scientology's super-secret underground vault locations. The vaults are the project of the Church of Spiritual Technology, a hush-hush entity inside Scientology that owns the trademarks and copyrights to L. Ron Hubbard's works, and that digs ... More >>

SCIENTOLOGY'S DISGRACE: AN OPEN LETTER TO TOM CRUISE

Dear Tom, It's time for you to start talking publicly about Scientology again. Your religion is in serious trouble. In 2005, you ended a longtime policy of not talking about the church by suddenly bringing it up in interviews. Most memorable, of course, was the way you challenged Matt Lauer, tell ... More >>

Anonymous vs Scientology: Chanology's Quadrennium in NYC

We got a little confused by the International Dateline and what not -- hey, you try converting Sydney time to New York and see if it doesn't leave you dizzy -- so that big story we were promising today won't be here for another 18 hours or so. In the meantime, we have this short video we pieced toge ... More >>

VIDEO: The Debbie Cook Interview

​ We can't remember a time when the attorneys of the Church of Scientology gave up on a case like they did today when they withdrew their request for a temporary injunction that would keep Debbie Cook and Wayne Baumgarten under a gag order until the church's lawsuit against them could come to ... More >>

Scientology Dramaturgy: Commenters of the Week!

Things back at the underground bunker are peaceful and calm -- the cats dig the new scratching post, we hear, and they're finally getting some quiet time while we're on the road frantically trying to keep up with Scientology's ongoing implosion. Things started out quietly enough as we began another ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: "You Chilluns Will Get Shoes"

NOTE: This is our regularly-scheduled Friday morning feature about L. Ron Hubbard aboard the Apollo. Our second day of reporting from the Debbie Cook hearing begins soon. Please check back for that coverage. In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of c ... More >>

Scientology vs Debbie Cook, Day 2: More Live-Blogging by the Voice

We're heading down to the courthouse now to begin talking to folks before the action heats up again. Yesterday afternoon, Bexar County district judge Martha Tanner said that she'd begin day 2 of the temporary injunction hearing at 9:30 am, CST. If you're just joining us, the Church of Scientology ... More >>

Scientology Waves the White Flag in Texas: The Debbie Cook Interview

​I'm sitting in a remarkable conference happening right now with Debbie Cook, her husband Wayne Baumgarten (pictured above), their attorney, Ray Jeffrey, and several other journalists. It's just a few hours after the Church of Scientology surprisingly waved the white flag and dropped its atte ... More >>

5 Biggest Lies in Scientology's 2-Minute TV Ad

We keep seeing Twitter reactions as people are stunned to see a 2-minute ad for Scientology show up on network television. We've written earlier about the negative reactions the ad is getting as it appeared during NFL playoff games, the Miss America pageant, the Golden Globes, and during such weekly ... More >>

Scientology's Secret Vaults: A Rare Interview With a Former Member of Hush-Hush "CST"

Over the years, we've talked to a lot of former Scientologists, many of whom worked at the church's secretive desert headquarters in Southern California, "Int Base." They were cut off from their families and the outside world, and became accustomed to living in secrecy. But even these people adopt ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: The Denver Miracle!

Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other day of ... More >>

Scientology Jurisprudence: Commenters of the Week!

The underground bunker might need some new paneling after the way we were bouncing off the walls this week. I mean seriously, how are we going to keep up with all of this Scientology news? It's like this is turning into a real job or something. We started off the week with our regular feature, Sund ... More >>

Debbie Cook's Motion Denied: Scientology's Restraining Order Remains in Place Until Thursday Hearing

As we reported yesterday, Debbie Cook, who is being sued by the Church of Scientology for speaking out to her fellow church members in a New Year's Eve e-mail, filed a motion to dissolve a temporary restraining order so broad, it prevented her from hiring an attorney (she hired one anyway) or talkin ... More >>

Scientology Cartoon Tops Reddit: We Talk to its Creator, Abbey Neslen, 18

A "rage comic" created by an 18-year-old college sophomore in Bozeman, Montana has grabbed the attention of Reddit users tonight. At more than 100,000 views, the cartoon, titled "What the Church of Scientology did to my family" is a quick success, and has generated more than 900 comments at this po ... More >>

The 5 Worst Things Judges Have Said About Scientology

How many times do judges have to say this stuff?​Monday evening, we learned that Debbie Cook, who dared to question the health of her religion, is being sued by the Church of Scientology. That night, Joe Childs and Tom Tobin of the Tampa Bay Times broke news of the lawsuit, which alleges that ... More >>

Indiana Senate Votes to Teach Scientology in Schools

UPDATE: We now have an interview with Vi Simpson, the woman who put Scientology (and other religions) into a Creationism bill in order to neutralize it. Yesterday, Indiana's state senate voted 28-22 to adopt yet another creationism-in-the-schools bill, which have been routinely found unconstitution ... More >>

Vi Simpson: The Woman Who Punked The Radical Republicans in the Indiana State Senate and Their Creationist Bill

After interviewing Vi Simpson, the Indiana State Senate Minority Leader, I'm wondering why the hell I haven't already seen this woman on national television or in the mainstream press. I hope you see what I mean after you hear what she had to say about the way she crippled the latest Creationism-in ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: May the Force Be With You! (UPDATED)

Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other day of ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: Wild Breakthroughs on OT 8!

​In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this ti ... More >>

Scientology: L. Ron Hubbard Still Surfing the Galaxy

Twenty-six years ago today, L. Ron Hubbard decided to leave his body after using it for 74 years. A young David Miscavige, a Sea Org member who behind the scenes had been clearing the way to become Hubbard's successor as leader of the Scientology movement, announced Hubbard's death to his followers ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: The "Thrill" of Fundraising!

​Scientologists don't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday any differently than every other ... More >>

Scientology's Goons: Intimidating a 71-Year-Old Missouri Grandmother

On December 29, the Church of Scientology-Missouri's media relations officer, Ellen Maher-Forney, and another executive, Jill James, drove the 40 minutes it takes to go from the church on Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis to the home of Jim and Meshell Little in Saint Peters, Missouri. When the two wom ... More >>

Did You See a Scientology Ad This Weekend?

Update: After the jump, we'll show you the church e-mail that confirms just about everything we were told by Jefferson Hawkins about this sudden ad campaign. The Church of Scientology bought network TV ad time in a big way this weekend. On Saturday, we started noticing Twitter users complaining tha ... More >>

Scientology on the High Seas: L. Ron Hubbard Frets Over His Sexy Crew

In November we started a new feature here on Fridays: the Voice has obtained hundreds of copies of L. Ron Hubbard's previously unpublished "Orders of the Day," which he gave to crew members as he sailed the Mediterranean. Our documents cover the period from late 1968 through 1971, and this time we'r ... More >>

Scientology, Cooked: Commenters of the Week!

"This Debbie Cook show is just too much!"​If the rest of 2012 is going to be like this first week, the hooch reserves in the underground bunker are going to need some bolstering. Things started off one second after midnight as 2012 began, when our pre-loaded first story of the year, "What is ... More >>

Scientology in Turmoil: Debbie Cook's E-Mail, Annotated

Since news broke Sunday of Debbie Cook's stunning e-mail, sent to thousands of her fellow Scientologists, word of a serious rift inside the church has been appearing in many news outlets, particularly in Europe. In the meantime, we provided additional depth and context about Debbie Cook, her career, ... More >>

Scientology in Crisis: Debbie Cook's Transformation from Enforcer to Whistleblower

Debbie Cook and her husband Wayne Baumgarten, Christmas 2010​Most of the press reporting on Debbie Cook so far has focused on her past as a high-ranking executive in the Church of Scientology and her sudden transformation this week into a whistleblower trying to rally her fellow church members ... More >>

Is Scientology Imploding? Watching the Panic After a Former Executive Dares to Question Church Management

UPDATE: We look back at Debbie Cook's career, from enforcer to whistleblower. The world of Scientology watching is still reeling after Debbie Cook's New Year's Eve e-mail landed in the inboxes of thousands of church members Saturday night. A few minutes after midnight, we began receiving copies of ... More >>

Scientology in 2012: Mark Bunker and Mike Rinder Give Us a Preview of Enturbulation To Come

The new year has already started with a bombshell, but we wanted to get a longer view of how 2012 might turn out for Scientology watching. So we asked a couple of far-seeing church observers to give us their thoughts. We have some fascinating prognostication from Mark Bunker, whose film Knowledge R ... More >>

Our Scientology Puzzle Solved!

In yesterday's story celebrating our commenting community at the end of the year, I mentioned that back in the summer, I had planted a puzzle in our very successful series, The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology. Despite the large readership of that series, no one managed to spot the little visua ... More >>

Scientology in the Village Voice: 2011 in Review

Here at the Voice we wrote 234 stories on Scientology this year. They generated more than a million pageviews and more than 20,000 comments from our loyal readers. Our first story of the year was posted in February, when we lauded Lawrence Wright's excellent, lengthy New Yorker profile of church de ... More >>

Scientology Shoop of the Year -- The Vote Is In!

We're continuing our year-end celebrations here at the (newly refurbished and upgraded) underground bunker. Today, we have the voting results for best Photoshopped image as chosen by you, our fellow Scientology watchers. The talented Photoshoppers over at WhyWeProtest.net constantly turn out clever ... More >>

Scientology Video of the Year: The Vote Is In!

We're going to start off our end-of-year celebrations this week by revealing which video you selected as the best of 2011. My thanks to our readers who participated in the poll. We had many interesting videos to choose from this year; some were new, others were rediscovered, and every one made an i ... More >>

Scientology Sunday Funnies: Merry Christmas 2011!

"Santa, were you an implant too?"​Scientology doesn't really have a Sunday service. They like to say that they do, because they crave mainstream acceptance. But unless Xenu rested after six days and L. Ron Hubbard just forgot to mention it, there's no reason for Scientologists to treat Sunday ... More >>

Out-of-Work Journalists: Want to do Scientology's Dirty Work?

​We know things in the newspaper and magazine rackets are really grim right now. Every time we put up a job opening, we get hundreds of applications from folks looking for work. (Hey, and we're about to put up another one, for copy chief, so all of you copy editors out there, get your resumes ... More >>

Scientology Fireworks! Commenters of the Week, Independence Day Edition

What does the Apollo have to do with fireworks or the 4th of July? Beats us, too.​Scientology watchers had another fine week here at the Voice, and our commenters were yet again out in force. On Monday, we congratulated Scientology for taking home two coveted Bronze Telly awards, honoring fin ... More >>

Ex-Scientology Actor Attacks Ex-Scientology Plaintiff in TMZ Story Clearly Not Planted by Scientology

Marty Rathbun and Jason Beghe​After spending more than a week frozen in a mixture of glycol and alcohol, this thetan is ready to re-enter the volcano! We're going to pierce the WALL OF FIRE! (Um, actually, it was a case of walking pneumonia, but whatever. It's good to be back to work.) And wh ... More >>

Is Tom Cruise Worthy of a Simon Wiesenthal Award? Also: Scientology's Building Spree

​Jewish Journal writer Danielle Berrin recently took on a subject that has Scientology watchers chattering. On May 5, L.A.'s famous anti-Nazi organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, will bestow on Tom Cruise its 2011 Humanitarian Award. As Berrin points out, Cruise isn't exactly known for ... More >>

Michael Fairman, Familiar TV and Film Actor, Makes Public His Expulsion from Scientology

​"Accused -- prosecuted -- found guilty -and sentenced right there on my door step. And here is my certificate of doom." For Scientology watchers, spectacular news this morning. Familiar television and movie character actor Michael Fairman, a longtime member of the "church," has made public ... More >>

Tom Cruise's Daughter Leaves Him Over Scientology?

​Former Page Six-er Richard Johnson* (see below) is reporting at The Daily that Tom Cruise's daughter, Isabella, 18, is fed up with Scientology and has moved out of her father's house. A Cruise publicist denied the report. Johnson quotes two of our favorite Scientology sources, Marty Rathbu ... More >>

Scientology in The New Yorker: Lawrence Wright Buries L. Ron Hubbard For Good

Paul Haggis: "I was in a cult for thirty-four years. Everyone else could see it. I don't know why I couldn't."​We've been looking forward for some time to New Yorker writer Lawrence Wright's account of the defection of 'Crash' director Paul Haggis from Scientology. But this thing. Wow. I thi ... More >>

Royale Flush

The Bond franchise takes a gamble on a new guy and comes up aces

NY Mirror