jon atack, family and friends

In their ongoing series deconstructing L. Ron Hubbard's "Fundamentals of Thought," Jon and Chris team up again to take on the absurdities of Scientology, tackle the question of why we keep falling for authoritarian leaders, and even ponder the meaning of life, including whether or not becoming "civilized" was ever a good idea in the first place.  __________________________ ...

Amir left his executive position at Scientology's Scottish HQ at the beginning of 2026. He has been asking Jon questions since then. The answers should prove useful to anyone trying to unpick Hubbard's invasive system.  In the book  Science of Survival , in 1951, Hubbard said: ‘a pre-clear after he closes his eyes will begin to flutter his eyelids. This a symptom of the very lightest level...

Liana Shanti has just been ordered to pay $40 million in a libel suit. She started out as a wellness guru and then sold astrological predictions to her burgeoning following. She claims psychic powers and followed the Scientology playbook - selling blue sky to followers, and vilifying and slandering anyone who saw it for what it was.  Learn about her Akashic grids and the mother and father wounds w...

Cult specialist Joe Szimhart has been reading a history of the Huns, which shows that some Romans believed that they would bring the End Times. It made Joe think about the flurry of concern over AI as Armageddon, which led to a debate about Peter Thiel's preaching about the End Times as described in various recent books.  Throughout history, the End Times have been anticipated. Ron Hubbard wro...

Former members often form post-cult factions and fail to recognize the similarity of their own cultic experience with that of former members of other groups. Hoyt teaches about cultic relationships as an aspect of everyday life. Jon's book Opening Our Minds shows the way that the same dynamics are found in all cultic groups, but also throughout society. We urgently need to educate people about...

Joe Kelly trained and worked with Dr. Joylon "Jolly" West, who, through Tom O'Neill's work, has been cast as the creator of the Manson gang. Jon has researched the Manson gang in great depth and knew Jolly. Both Joe and Jon found Jolly to be devoted to good work and a tireless advocate for cult awareness. The descriptions being offered of him are completely at odds with their exp...

Pat and Joe are two of the most experienced cult specialists. They reflect on the use of psychedelics and Internal Family Systems therapy. We have to be careful that we are not subscribing to untested therapies that seem to exploit unscientific notions of possession. To what extent is the ex-cult world becoming cultic? We all have reservations about the use of hallucinogens and deliriants in the t...

Michelle is a clinical psychologist who returns to the channel after a hiatus of some years to share some pointers for anyone who wishes to try out consensual non-monogamy, open relationships, or polyamory.  Be prepared for a new vocabulary and some challenges to fixed beliefs!  Here's  Michelle's piece in LinkedIn Spike's note: Apparently, the "frog in the pot" analogy, whil...

Jon and Chris return to tackle this Hubbard classic again, and end up discussing thought control, authoritarianism, and how we're bamboozled into believing the unbelievable and supporting the unsupportable. And, as always, they share some laughs along the way. Also, PLEASE, if you haven't already, check out the Roehampton Research Study on Mandated Shunning and here's Chris' livest...

Our friend Steve Moffic, MD, joins Jon to discuss a survey listing the top twenty behaviors people would like to be remembered for, and, of course, they add their own comments, additions, and observations on mortality and life, war and peace, and the nature of humanity. Please tell us in the comments what you would most like to be remembered for!  Links:  Here is the list  that inspired this conve...

Håkan Järvå left Scientology after reading online postings. He talks with Jon about the journey away from Ron Hubbard's invasive conditioning techniques. This talk will be helpful to anyone who is leaving an authoritarian cult and to anyone trying to help someone leave. The primary rule is - don't try to reason them out, but build rapport through friendly conversation.

As the Rocky movies demonstrate, hero myths can create cults. Joe talks about the homage paid to the Rocky statue on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and relates it to the cult that arose from the tale of Ulysses’ Odyssey. There are many examples of cult formation around fascinating narratives; Joe and Jon touch on Star Wars, The Matrix, the Arthurian legends, The Holy Blood and the Hol...

Hoyt talks about his recently aired documentary, "Bring Me the Beauties," and the perplexity that two of the contributors continue to believe that the cult leader really was from another planet, and that they simply failed to understand his message. A fascinating insight into cult membership and the mesmerizing effect of cult creators.  Links: Watch  "Bring Me the Beauties" mor...

This is part 2 of 2; you can find part 1 here In part 2 of this conversation, Jon and Amir talk about L. Ron Hubbard, hypnosis, belief, and why we wall ourselves into our personal silos when our beliefs are challenged, rather than having the courage to consider the evidence.  Links: See Yuval Laor's work  here See John Hunter's work  here Here is a link to the documentary,  Let There Be Li...

Amir left Scientology staff in January 2026 and has many questions. Is Scientology 20th-century Buddhism, and was Hubbard the Buddha who will take everyone to Nirvana? What is the difference between a sociopath and a psychopath? Why did Tom Cruise jump on Oprah’s couch? What is a “mystery sandwich” ?  These and many more questions may or may not be answered!  #scientologycult  links:  learn more a...

Many young men are attracted to what some call 'toxic masculinity,' which rejects the equality of women and preaches aggression. This includes 'incels' or involuntary celibates. Most of these young men feel rejected, so they want to build their muscles and assert their maleness. Steve and Jon talk about the failure to teach our kids how to deal with rejection, how to communicate we...

Joe is a leading cult specialist with decades of experience. Today's discussion kicks off with a discussion of the origins of much of the 'New Age' in the Russian Empire - Blavatsky, Gurdjieff, Ouspensky, and Roerich were among the founders of our contemporary cultic groups. Throughout history, some of the most powerful and influential people have been believers in the occult. Abe Linc...

Felicia came to international fame when she helped to convict Larry Ray for sixy years. The documentary Stolen Youth shows how she was lured into the Sarah Lawrence cult after two of her siblings had joined. After asking Jon a couple of questions about Tom Cruise and Scientology, Felicia describes her recruitment while she was interning as a doctor at the University of South California. Felicia ha...

we project the virtues we lack into heroes. When we forget that our heroes have feet of clay, they become idols and we fall into adolescent awe of their abilities. Abilities that we have projected into them. Cult leaders are often deeply insecure people who fuel themselves with the adulation of their followers. Hoyt asks if any of Epstein's thousands of clients will ever see trial for their cr...

In part two of this two-part talk, recent Scientology defector Amir Essalhi talks with Jon about Jon's books, Scientology, its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and its current leader, David Miscavige. Amir describes Scientology leader David Miscavige's premature aging and shares examples of his cruelty and greed.  NOTE: this is part two of a two-part talk.  Part one is here Links:  Jon’s papers: N...

Amir left Scientology in January. He's now read Jon's books, Opening Our Minds and Let's Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky, and has a few questions about Scientology, its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, and its current leader, David Miscavige. Amir shares examples of the cruelty and greed he witnessed while in. Jon also talks about Ron Hubbard's cancellation of Dianetics because it is...

ICSA has long represented the interface between scholars and cult specialists in the US. Jon talks with Carol Merchasin about her own background as an advocate for survivors of spirtual abuse and the direction ICSA is taking. Links: ICSA's new website Scheflin’s Social Influence Model Steven Hassan’s BITE model And his Influence Continuum

Joe reflects on Ryan Gosling's movie - which he enjoyed - and human fascination with an escape to another and alien culture. He talks about his experience as a participant observer at a Catholic men's Wild Man gathering and displays the merch he picked up there - including illustrated advice to "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devi...

Håkan left Scientology in the early '80s - at around the same time as Jon - and followed a similar course, seeking to understand the deeply manipulative methods sold as therapy by Ron Hubbard. Håkan qualified as a psychologist and spent three years touring Swedish schools with a mentalist, showing teenagers how easily we can be tricked. It is surprising how few former Scientologists have reach...

Therapy can happen spontaneously. Trauma can lead to understanding. We often help others better because we've had a similar experience. A wide-ranging discussion about education, government, the media, and morbid entertainment, along with a critique of social attitudes towards offenders. More on the Mendota Study