PODCAST: Louise Shekter compares working closely with both Hubbard and Miscavige

[Louise on her first day at the Apollo, in 1969]

Louise Shekter has written some dynamite pieces for us at the Underground Bunker. She not only was in some amazing places to witness Scientology history during her tenure (1969-2000), but she’s a terrific writer of evocative prose.

We thought it was time to bring her on the podcast, and we told her we had a special subject in mind. Louise is a member of a pretty select club: She worked closely, for years, with both Scientology’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and the man who succeeded him, David Miscavige.

On the yacht Apollo, she was one of Hubbard’s longest-serving personal aides. For Miscavige at Gold Base, she was a film director. She saw both men up close, and worked with them on major projects. How many people today who have left Scientology can say the same thing, we thought.

We asked her to compare her experiences with these two ultimate leaders of Scientology, and we hope you find her answers as fascinating as we did.

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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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