PODCAST: Jon Atack has some things to say about Mike Rinder’s new book on Scientology
The big news this week of course is that former Scientology spokesman and Leah Remini’s costar Mike Rinder has released his really terrific book about his experience in the church, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.
And in our review we pointed out that we felt the book had a unique place in the literature of this crazy organization that we keep an eye on.
In order to help us put that into some perspective, we thought we’d discuss it with one of the OGs on the scene, the man whose monumental history of Scientology was our own introduction to the subject, none other than historian and Underground Bunker contributor, Jon Atack. His 1990 book, now in a new edition, Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky, remains a milestone in the field. More recently, he’s been producing interviews at his YouTube channel, including several with Rinder.
We figured he’d have some unique perspectives on Rinder’s book, and we weren’t disappointed.
Today, we’re releasing the fifteenth episode of The Underground Bunker Podcast to our paid subscribers at Substack. You should receive it presently at your email inbox if you’re on the list.
Not a paid subscriber? Well, we have something for you, too. Last week’s episode was with Mark Bunker, the Clearwater city councilman, who talked to us about Scientology’s latest moves in that beleaguered town. In the weeks before, we talked to Jesse Prince, Paulette Cooper, Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan, Jefferson Hawkins, Marc Headley, Patty Moher, Geoff Levin, Pete Griffiths, Sunny Pereira, Jeffrey Augustine, and Claire Headley.
Those first fourteen episodes are now free to all of our subscribers, paid and unpaid. All of our podcast episodes can be found here.
Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:
Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history
Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea
Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time
Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology
Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain
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"why'd you fall for this [....fill..in..the..blank...]".
Why'd anyone fall for Scientology.
It's tailor made, the reason why each fall for Scientology, or are born into it.
There was a survey site, asking this question, one of the first which I chose to write my answer, anonymously when I got out, in 2005ish on the internet finally.
The stories of ex's summarized, over the decades going back to the differences of why people got in the 1950s in Dianetics (fetus trauma talk quack "therapy") to modern exorcism.
From talking about fetus memories, to talking about past lives memories, and talking telepathically to invisible bodiless souls (Scientology's exorcism practice is this).
It's "talk" to souls, today, that's Scientology.
It requires mainly two people, one asking the questions to delve into the other person's memories.
It's a quack two person therapy, and a couple places you can do the quack therapy to yourself. And it's a quack exorcism, mainly another person exorcising your invisible souls off your human body, and in a few steps, the final OT 7 really you do a huge amount of solo exorcism of your invisible souls that infest your human body.
That cannot be omitted when talking about core most vital Scientology, today.
I keep my participation with my 27 years in Scientology, connected to the soul talk and exorcism talk (which I never got to the exorcism steps).
That then ties Scientology into the bigger place it has, and why it continues.
Why do people fall for soul practices? Soul past lives trauma "therapy" or soul exorcism (Xenu dumped the surplus invisible souls onto earth that infest all humans, per Scientology theory).
The soul explanation angle, answers the question, "why'd you fall for this?"
Scientology promising soul flying, from doing all their quackery steps and the exorcism, ties into the soul theory, that the soul transmigrates, and that one can attain soul flying without dying, is the core soul theory why anyone can offer as an excuse for "Why'd you fall for this crap?"
Jon shared that something which was newly revealed in Mike’s book was that Hubbard would call David Miscavige "Misc"—I just rediscovered that Ron Miscavige had mentioned that Hubbard called his son "Misc" on page 92 of his book Ruthless!