This week we went live. I showed off my new encyclopedia of L. Ron Hubbard’s life as told by the Church of Scientology and we launched into answers to a ton of questions about Scientology and also Iran. Enjoy!

This week it’s a deep dive into what it takes to do Scientology’s OT levels, the Emotional Tone Scale, my thoughts on The Sandman and also on Alex Jones’ latest problems and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) Can you talk about the Sea Org’s security policies/procedures around the OT materials? You made reference to it in a previous podcast, and I was curious if you could go into detail about what those might be.

(2) I saw The Sandman Season 1 episode 4 called 24/7 and couldn’t help thinking of your many discussions on coercive control. Can you please comment?

(3) Let’s imagine that someone could attempt to use the tone scale as a means of interacting with David Miscavige. What strategies should a person take in dealing with Miscavige’s chronic tone level?

(4) I was wondering if you’ve been keeping up on the lawsuits filed against Alex Jones stemming from all the lies he spread about Sandy Hook. He was ordered to pay a combined total of $49.2 million dollars towards punitive and compensatory damages. Do you think he can survive this or is he done? What effect will this decision have on other people like him?

(5) Scientology maintains a museum of sorts in Washington DC, in the building where Hubbard lived in the 1950s and the first administrative offices of the newly formed Church of Scientology were located. I’ve heard there are other similar, but more modest, locations in other places where Hubbard has lived over the years. Do we know how many of those there are? Who is maintaining them? I am assuming small crews of Sea Org members. If so, what’s their life like? If not, then who and on what terms?

(6) How did leaving Scientology impact your general sense of spirit? Are you an agnostic or atheist now?

(7) I know Scientology is dwindling, but as Aaron Smith-Levin has shown, there are people that have joined recently and are not second generation. What do you think the total number of people that are coming in and taking at least a few courses for the first time is? Even if they attrit quickly, that number would be interesting to hear. If there are 125 Orgs, just one person per month would mean there are well over a thousand. Would love your ballpark estimate.

(8) Why do many Scientologists choose to continue to celebrate the late L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday? He’s been dead for decades now.

Today we did a live stream Q&A show and it went great. We talked Grant Cardone and other Scientology criminals and opportunists, the cancellation of the RPF and what replaced it and a lot more. Enjoy!

This week we went live to answer a slew of questions about Scientology and its history, Donald Trump in the news and a whole lot more. Enjoy!

This week it’s answers about Scientology Sunday services, Hubbard’s family tree, movies with Scientology data in them and more. Enjoy!

(1) When were “Sunday services” introduced in Scientology? Was it before you left or after? If before, have you ever attended and if so, what did you think? Based on what you know, what do practicing Scientologists think about them? What’s their current status in Scientology? Are they still held? Or have they been suspended because of COVID? If so, do you think Scientology would eventually hold them again or forget they ever existed and erase them from the official history? 

(2) The military has preferred postings such as Hawaii. Is there such a thing in the Sea Org? Are there places highly sought after or places to be avoided?

(3) Can you tell us why celebrities don’t show up on the list of high donors or get awards from the IAS? I would think that at least some of the celebs donate at the same levels as the other public donors and I would think that David Miscavige would want to show off their donations to the other members of the IAS. Is this a deliberate choice on the part of Scientology to keep their donations secret, or is this a choice on the part of the celebrity to opt out of receiving an award for their donation?

(4) I was wondering about L Ron Hubbard’s grandson. Does he have one? We hear from his son, who changed his name; and his great-grandson who recites poetry. What about the generation in between?

(5) I read someone’s comment about the Will and Jayden Smith vehicle After Earth about the connections they saw with the plot and characterization to Scientology and their philosophy. I was also fascinated when watching the demonstration of what I understand are techniques used in Scientology when watching the film, The Master. Have you watched these films? If you have, what can you say about their relationship to CoS and its philosophy? Are there any other films (not documentaries) which you believe have a hidden or overt connection to Scientology?

(6) I was watching a channel called the Vile Eye where they dissect the motivations of comic book villains. Thanos (the main villain in Marvel’s Avenger’s movies) was a Titan that wanted to solve overpopulation by casual genocide. Did this ever strike you as a similarity between Xenu and Thanos? Is this just a weird Easter egg or parallel thinking?

(7) Would you go to a 90s band reunion festival? If so, who would you like to see perform?

(8) What are some crazy things Hubbard actually did besides conning people?

This week I talk in detail about Scientology auditing and how it works, Tom Cruise and why Scientologists love him so much, why Hubbard is thought of so highly despite his bad looks and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) I am curious about people finding themselves in auditing sessions where they could not leave. You have said that auditors are trained to physically keep people in the room until their needle floats (or whatever the goal is). I am really struggling to imagine what that would look like. Could the person be kept there for hours or days? Are they offered food and refreshments? Can they have bathroom breaks? If it is someone new to the group, will their phone have been taken away from them? If I were in such a situation I think I would just lie and say I was coming back, but then leave, but would that be a possibility? I would love you to explain what ‘keeping them there’ actually means.

(2) In a lecture to auditors (Clearing Congress series), LRH talked about being able to process people in comas and otherwise unconscious people. Have you ever heard about this practice, as ridiculous and impossible as it sounds? In the same lecture he talked about the ‘motivator sequence”. Can you explain what that is? LRH was, as usual, vague and incoherent.

(3) I’m a bodybuilder/ nutrition enthusiast. I understand being indoctrinated by the “tech”. I still don’t understand how someone can look at LRH, even in his prime, and think “I wanna be just like this guy”. He was balding, always overweight, had a very ugly looking face, not that great of a speaker and just overall looked like a person I’m afraid to look like when I get old. This man is supposed to be the example of the highest OT but yet couldn’t get his meat body to be even moderately attractive. When you were in Scientology did these thoughts about his looks or obesity ever come to your mind?

(4) Since Tom Cruise has been coming up a lot I have thought of another question about him. His relationship with Nicole Kidman and Katie Holmes and his daughter failed. I guess you can say they were pts but it seemed like most of them tried to participate in Scientology. If Tom Cruise was not a celebrity and he was in the same situation wouldn’t he be blamed for being pts himself? Being an OT 8 he can’t handle his personal problems? He could ride a motorcycle or fly in the back of a F-18 but what is he doing to clear the planet anymore? He doesn’t sound like a very good Scientologist to me. I wonder if he got sponsored and never had to pay for Scientology services at all just for the marketing value of his name. How could they ask Tom Cruise for money? 

(5) I have a question about why Scientologists are so reluctant to talk about the role that space aliens play in Scientology’s religious cosmology. I suppose maybe they don’t want their beliefs to seem weird, and I know that the OT3 Xenu material is confidential, so that only 5 percent or so of Scientologists even know about it, and even the minority who does know about it are forbidden to talk about it, but there are clearly public sources in which non-confidential extraterrestrial material is available.

Obvious examples would be “A History of Man” (1952) which alludes to invaders and the use of thetan traps, and “Have You Lived This Life Before,” which discusses past lives as extraterrestrials. There are also some audio tapes in which Hubbard makes allusions to nefarious ET plots to mess with us with foreign mental implants and stuff of that nature (I don’t know which, if any of these materials, are confidential). 

I know they tend to use the thought-stopping cliche of “there are no aliens, only thetans” when confronted with this question. Is this just an attempt to deflect so they don’t have to have an uncomfortable conversation or is it also partially a sincere attempt to emphasize Hubbard’s idealistic (as opposed to materialist) metaphysics, so that we don’t focus on material bodies but on the fact that we are all non-physical beings? 

(6) Talking about being “all in” when you join scientology, how on Earth do Jewish people join ? Do they have to turn against their Jewish faith and beliefs? I know a few Jewish Hollywood stars have swallowed up their garbage.

(7) I was wondering if you could explain the impact that Cruise’s new Top Gun movie will have within Scientology? Will David Miscavige attribute the box office success to Scientology, or use it as ‘evidence’ of Scientology’s dissemination? Will there be new initiatives pushed because of it? How will the Scientology laymen view it? Do you think a critical mass of people who understand Scientology’s abuses–and Tom Cruise’s complicity in that abuse–will ever be reached; to the point where the general public will no longer support him as an actor and therefore no longer watch his movies? Thanks!

This week, it’s answers about loaded language in Scientology, how much should cult education be part of schooling, why is David Mayo a significant name in Scientology’s history and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) When I was still relatively new to Scientology, I was put on the E-meter and asked many questions including “Are you reasonable?” and I answered “Of course, who wouldn’t be?” To my surprise, she got all weird as if I had murdered someone. She then showed me Hubbard’s definition of reasonable and as I recall it was absurd and completely contrary to what you might think. What is the Hubbard made up definition of “reasonable”? What purpose does it serve? And what procedure was done on me?

(2) In your opinion, how much should the average person know about cults? At what age would this knowledge be appropriate to introduce? In a perfect world, should there be introductory information about cults and cultic thinking in the social studies curriculum on a high school level? Or is it too complicated or too abstract for a young person without the experience of independent living? 

(3) Could you please explain who David Mayo was and his place in Scientology’s history? For those interested in Scientology, he’s a name that comes up a bit. I have watched briefly a few of his lectures from years ago and he seemed intelligent and charismatic, a potential leader I’d say. 

(4) How can we keep in communication with someone that has joined the Sea Org? Recently a friend of mine was recruited and moved from Europe to LA. I had no idea what the Sea Org was all about and how strict it could be until I lost my friend to it. In the meantime, he has deleted all his social media accounts, including WhatsApp and possibly his email address.  There is no way I can reach out to him directly. I’m really sad that this is happening, mainly because I’m sure I haven’t said anything to be considered an SP, and I know he would never vanish like this in his sane mind. 

The last time I heard from him he called me saying he was still in quarantine studying and his EPF was about to start. I understand they have no time to be on their cellphone but damn…vanishing like that? 

I decided to write him a letter but I have no guarantees that they are going to deliver it to him. I kept it light but maybe my feelings for him showed up a little. I wrote on a postcard some positive news, that I missed his smile and that he would always be welcomed where I live. Do they also censor this type of communication?

(5) I was wondering if you could include some content that compares and contrasts the methods, emotional needs and overall experiences between “Oh No! Ross and Carrie” and their approach versus Midnight Mormons’ attempt at joining the Church of Scientology. They both had the same premise of walking in and giving it a try, but there were two totally different outcomes. 

(6) Do you have an opinion about the “Self Realization Fellowship?”

(7) Chris, are you familiar with Christian Science?  How is it similar or different than Scientology?

(8) Images of volcanoes are everywhere in Scientology, what are the pre-OT3 Scientologists told of there significance?

This week we had a last-minute change of plans and so I went live for the Q&A. We had some great questions about what I would have done had my parents been declared when I was still in, gun rights and other non-controversial issues came up which we had a good time (as always) in answering. Enjoy!

This week, it’s answers about hypnotic trance in auditing, volunteering for the Aftermath Foundation, what is it that makes Scientologists think such ridiculous nonsense is true and a lot more. Enjoy!

(1) One thing that I’ve been thinking about recently is the possibility of implanted hypnotic messages installed during auditing . I was thinking back to when I was a Scientologist, a friend of mine was bragging about the fact he was in session for over two hours and didn’t remember anything that went on. Has it ever worried you that a hypnotic command was implanted without your knowledge?

(2) You recently interviewed Katherine Olson, who left the Sea Org last year. In her interview, she mentioned getting assistance from an Aftermath Foundation volunteer. This got me curious: what’s involved in becoming such a volunteer? The Aftermath Foundation’s Web site, for obvious reasons, is very basic: “write to us and let us know what kind of help you are willing to provide”. But there has to be more to it, right? Otherwise, there will be OSA plants in the system, if not right away, then eventually. Or am I being paranoid?

(3) At what point did you or people in general cross the line in Scientology whereby they accept the entire story hook line and sinker to the degree where all of the cosmology is acceptable and you are willing to remortgage your home max out your credit cards in what seems to be an unquenchable thirst to obtain as much Scientology as possible. It seems to me this is not too dissimilar from alcoholism or drug addiction whereby you just have to keep getting more or have I got that wrong because there seems to be no end to what people are prepared to do to get as much Scientology as possible.

(4) I want to know more about your courseroom supervisor experience. What were you like as a course supervisor? Were you strict or laid back? Did you make sure chitchat was kept to a minimum or did you enjoy having a laugh with students? Did you look out for people yawning, zoning out and then help that person find their misunderstood? What were the people in the courseroom like? Did you ever have someone disagree with what they were reading and tell you so?  Did anyone ever say that what they were reading or doing was nonsense? Did anyone ever walk out of the class annoyed? Did some students look excited to be there and loved everything they read? Were there days when the classroom was empty? Were the days when you had a full class and was that a good feeling when you saw that? 

(5) In a recent Critical Clip, you were talking about Sea Org staff at local Orgs.  You mentioned a position, that is in part, in charge of advertising.  What type of advertising do they do?  I have lived in the Twin Cities (MN) all my life, and I have never seen a billboard or heard a radio commercial for Scientology.  I presume they must do more than just wait for someone to walk into the local org.

Today we discussed a lot of Scientology-related questions including Scientology axioms, the occult origins of Hubbard’s ideas, whether Miscavige grieved over his father’s death and a lot more. Enjoy!