Scientology watchers, we have a treat for you this morning. This video has been making the rounds the last couple of days, and we can see why it's generating so much interest. Mike Napier, the captain of Scientology's private cruise ship, the Freewinds, stars in this film and tells us about the bene ... More >>
Last summer, we put together a little list that took on a life of its own. We counted down the 25 people and groups who had been doing the most to get word out to the wider world about the Church of Scientology's many alleged abuses, and who have contributed to its steep recent decline. A year la ... More >>
For going on 17 years I've been writing about Scientology, and over that time there's one question that has come up again and again. Why don't Scientologists, when they've been in the organization long enough to reach the legendary material in "Operating Thetan Level Three" -- the stuff about Xenu ... More >>
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 >>
Friday, we told you about a spate of new books on Scientology that are in various states of publication. We're happy to say that there's even more on the way, and we wanted to highlight one you can get into your e-book reader right now. If you read our stories about Scientology, you've seen how muc ... More >>
A slow week was suddenly broken wide open as we were hit with an avalanche of new books, promised books, and barely-begun books with one thing in common: Disapproval of David Miscavige's brand of Scientology. After the jump, we'll tell you about the book that legendary cult-busting attorney Paul Mo ... More >>
Last month, we noted that Lisa Marie Presley's single "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet," which she released ahead of her new album, Storm and Grace, came with lyrics that read like a kiss-off to the Church of Scientology, even using some of Scientology's jargon -- like the very telling word suppressive. ... More >>
Oh my, do we have a treat for you today. For several weeks now, we've been reporting on the "L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future" contest. For several years, certain writers have questioned the connection between the contest and Scientology, which owns and operates it. And recently ... More >>
We've shuffled up our schedule a bit here in the underground bunker -- it was either that, or the cats would be dining on our corpse with the klaxons going off for weeks before we were discovered. Now that things are a bit more relaxed, we can take in the past week with a Sunday morning warm beverag ... More >>
We used the news from Russia this week as an excuse to mix up a shaker of vodka martinis. After quite a few glasses garnished with olives, we got a bit lightheaded, but we never felt the desire to ban L. Ron Hubbard's books. This was a strange week of Scientology news around the world, but we kept ... More >>
Note: We'll have a special St. Patrick's Day report at 1pm this afternoon. Please come back for that after you check out these comments of the week! We went to Mecca and back this week -- Scientology's Mecca that is, the town of Clearwater, Florida to celebrate L. Ron Hubbard's 101st birthday. And ... More >>
On Thursdays, Scientologists race to turn in their weekly stats, and we like to do the same, looking at how the church has fared around the world. This week, before we get to a couple of press items, we're going to start with something special. One of our tipsters sent us something that we always ... More >>
It's not often that things are calm and soothing here inside the underground bunker. But after Judge Stryker gave the order yesterday for everyone just to chill out, we took it to heart. Even the cats are taking a break from tearing up the furniture. There was plenty of activity this week, though, ... More >>
There's been so much enturbulation in the underground bunker lately, it's been hell on the cats, who just want to catch up on their sleep. So we installed one of those kitty hi-rises this week and it was an instant hit. The little carnivores are remaining more calm in their tiny carpeted condos whil ... More >>
This was some spooky week here in the underground bunker where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. Some downright eerie things showed up in our stories this week: Surfers who can see the future. Beings living in clouds. Egyptian gods showing up in some lady's kitchen. And The Great Bea ... More >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
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 >>
It's been another blast of a week here at the underground bunker, where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related. We started off the week by marveling at the "thrill" of Scientology fundraising in our regular weekend feature, Sunday Funnies. On Monday, we collected a few dozen of ... More >>
It was an amazing week here at the underground bunker, where we keep an eye on all things Scientology. Let's take a look back at how the week unfolded before we recognize the work of our illustrious commenting community. We starting things out by having fun with the Tone Scale in our regular weeken ... More >>
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 >>
We've gone through even more files in the massive leak of plans that describe the soon-to-open "Flag Mecca" in Clearwater, Florida -- otherwise known as Scientology's "Super Power Building" -- and we have more things to show you. In the wild "Perceptics" area on the fifth floor, there's this Heartbe ... More >>
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 >>
And we thought it was going to be tough to follow Debbie Cook. We're glad that we got those improvements to the underground bunker in place before the new year; we don't know if the old setup could have handled the hurricane-force enturbulation that hit with the coming of 2012. While we were still ... More >>
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 >>
Yesterday, we made public a leak of major proportions: we obtained hundreds of new renderings and architectural drawings of Scientology's $100 million "Super Power Building" -- what the church calls "Flag Mecca" -- in Clearwater, Florida. Of all the "perceptics" installations on the building's "su ... More >>
"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 >>
On November 18, 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 ... More >>
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 >>
L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's founderAlthough we've written hundreds of articles about Scientology over the years, and other news organizations have contributed hundreds more -- not to mention the numerous books, television programs, and countless websites dedicated to the subject -- without ... More >>
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 >>
[Image blatantly stolen from shoopers at WWP]"Finally, a country that treats its people right!"We had a feeling that this week leading up to Christmas would be pretty quiet around the underground bunker. And boy, were we wrong! What a crazy week, and it all started Sunday morning with our usu ... More >>
On November 18, 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 1968 to 1971, and this time we' ... More >>
The scene here in the underground bunker is like the quiet after a major storm. A hurricane blew up out of the Caribbean this week and hit us square on. The place is a mess. The cats are skittish. But the excitement has finally died down a bit, the lights are low, the empty bottles have been cleared ... More >>
We're still recovering here in the underground bunker from this week's big feast. The leftover turkey is still holding out as we look back on the past week of Scientology watching here at Runnin' Scared. We started things off Sunday morning with a look at Part 3 of "The Money Machine," the g ... More >>
For you Scientology watchers and Scientology history buffs, we think we have something very special for you today. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard sailed around the Mediterranean in a small armada of vessels, going from port to port. Each day, he issued ... More >>
Looking for a loophole?Just three days ago, we pointed out that a White House petition regarding Scientology had a long way to go to meet its Monday deadline of 5,000 signatures. But a big surge in signatures pushed the petition past 5,000 last night. And now, the Obama administration will ... More >>
It's that time of the week again -- at 2 pm on Thursdays, Scientology orgs turn in their stats for the week, and so we like to do our own accounting of how things went for the church with our weekly roundup. After the jump, an eye-opening look inside an "Ideal org" by our sister paper in Phoenix. ... More >>
Vanity Fair magazine is teasing its November issue with an excerpt from its interview with Johnny Depp, timed to promote his new movie, Rum Diary. One utterance from the Pirates of the Caribbean star has been picked up and flung around the Internets with requisite chuckling -- Depp appears t ... More >>
We've been watching a developing story in San Francisco, where Lauren Smiley at our sister paper, SF Weekly, has been covering an interesting defection from the Church of Scientology's "org" there. Chanology SF, the very active Anonymous chapter in that city, was celebrating the apparent fac ... More >>
DM's minions keep dropping the ball!Before we look back at the week that was, we wanted to remind you of our upcoming schedule. Monday morning at 9 am we'll reveal #3 in our big countdown, and then at noon we'll close voting on our readers poll. So if you haven't yet put in your own ballot, ... More >>
You've watched us reveal all but the top five entries in our big countdown, The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology -- now it's your turn to vote for your own list! Here's the link you've been waiting for -- now go and tell us who you think is doing the most to contribute to the Church of Sc ... More >>
This kangaroo is volunteering its time and no contract is impliedEvery Saturday, we say "what a week." But this time -- What a week! Right? With Scientology news breaking Down Under, and the countdown getting to single digits, and wacky stuff leaking in the UK -- the underground bunker was ri ... More >>
"Rathbun? I see nothing!"We were feeling pretty whiplashed this week here at the underground bunker where we keep an eye on all things Scientology related -- on the one hand, our big countdown was really heating up, but we also needed to keep an eye on the big news breaking out in Germany, wh ... More >>
Marcotai conquers entheta!We're sitting here in the underground bunker, looking back on what was another amazing week of Scientology watching. More and more tips are coming in, things are breaking overseas, and the cats are mewing for their breakfast. We're on sensory overload here, but let's ... More >>
Adding to Scientology's woes, some of the people who have been making defections in recent years are turning around and writing damning tell-alls. Regular publishers won't touch these books -- even though some of them are actually very well written -- so the authors have had to go the self-p ... More >>
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