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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 of hypnotic trance’ However, in the Hubbard Dianetic Auditor Course, re-introduced in 1977 and sold ever since, practitioners are told ‘When the preclear’s eyes close and you notice his eyelids flicker, finish counting...’ So, according to Hubbard himself 'Book One auditing' is hypnotic.  Hubbard also said, 'Any time anybody gets enough altitude he can be called a hypnotic operator, and what he says will act as hypnotic suggestion.' (R&D 4, pp.324-5). Hubbard's 'Tech' is hypnotically absorbed by followers.  Hubbard implored his followers to study hypnotism, but this advice was long since pushed aside: ‘The next thing an auditor should know well is the effect of hypnotism and drugs, and he should have observed this actually.’ (R&D 1, p.307)  These are a few of the many Hubbard statements examined in Jon's paper Never Believe a Hypnotist. Or watch the video. The Don Rogers Letters:Part OnePart TwoPart Three Buy Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World And listen to a free sample Buy Jon's book, Opening Our Minds     For the essential information on Scientology, check out Jon’s book, Scientology, Cult of Greed   And his bestselling classic exposé, Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky And visit his website And if you've made it through this much of the description, you deserve a song! so check out Spike's YouTube channel.

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 with Kacey from the Cult Vault. And then listen to her detailed podcast, for which she interviewed thirty people whose lives have been harmed by the Liana Shanti.  And check out Kacey's Cult Vault! Buy Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World And listen to a free sample Buy Jon's book, Opening Our Minds     For the essential information on Scientology, check out Jon’s book, Scientology, Cult of Greed   And his bestselling classic exposé, Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky And visit his website

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 wrote secretly that his Scientology existed solely to prevent the Second Coming of Christ (for which see Jon's If Scientology Ruled the World). Many Nazis had a similar view. Is Jacob Coxon's dire statement that there is a greater than ten percent chance that AI will destroy humanity actually true?  Check out Joe's video on The Huns Buy Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World And listen to a free sample Buy Jon's book, Opening Our Minds      For the essential information on Scientology, check out Jon’s book, Scientology, Cult of Greed    And his bestselling classic exposé, Let’s Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky  And if you've made it through this much of the description, you deserve a song! so check out Spike's YouTube channel.

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 these dynamics and the consequences that our world is in the hands of authoritarian human predators.The NYT piece: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/style/donna-flagg-hoyt-richards-wedding.html link to Hoyt's documentary, "Bring Me the Beauties": https://www.hbomax.com/show/7c334e2d-0868-4205-8a40-4d33360aec51 Download your own copy of our predator poster here: https://jonatack.co.uk/predator-posters/lBuy Jon's book, Opening Our Minds, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FP5PMNJTAnd buy Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World, here: https://mybook.to/8CIggd And listen to a free sample here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOprfY0DnRsbcKUUlDl2FAyL9kPbVtrlu

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 experience and not based on evidence. Jon talks about his years of research into Manson, which have led him to dismiss the fairy tale created by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. While Manson was most certainly a criminal, he was not a hippie, and there is no evidence that he planned a race war or ordered the murders led by Charles "Tex" Watson.

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 therapeutic community. When does a psychotherapy become a cult?

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, while a good metaphor for coercive control, is indeed a myth, and the real story is so, so, SO much worse. Here's a decent retelling of what really happened.

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 Shunningand here's Chris' livestream, "Revolting in the Stars"

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 conversation  Dr. Zimbardo's Heroic Imagination project Ira Chaleff's Intelligent Disobedience and the song Spike wrote to teach kids about Intelligent Disobedience through "Blink, Think, Choice, Voice"

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 Holy Grail, as well as The Da Vinci Code, showing how stories easily become doctrines believed by many.  Links: Joe’s art page More about the Rocky Statue in Philadelphia Note from Spike: You don't have to spend a fortune on plane tickets to see the great artworks of humanity. Many of the major world museums now have virtual tours. Here's a modest sample, in no particular order:  Rijksmuseum - Amsterdam, Netherlands The Louvre - Paris, France Van Gogh Museum - Amsterdam, Netherlands The British Museum – London, UK Tate Britain - London, UK The Museum of Modern Art - New York, US National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea - Gwacheon-si, South Korea  Museo Del Prado – Madrid, Spain

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" more on the Bear Fedio index Ira Chaleff's "Blink, Think, Choice, Voice" And Spike's song that she wrote to teach kids the concept  And Spike's own YouTube channel

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 Light Note for Americans and other non-UK people:  Speakers' Corner in London is a designated area for free speech and public debate, located in the north-east corner of Hyde Park near Marble Arch. It has been a site for public speaking since the mid-1800s, allowing anyone to speak on any lawful subject, especially on Sundays.

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 about the Mendota Study buy Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World And listen to a free sample here And here's Spike's YouTube

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 well, and how to resolve difficulties in relationships.  Romantic rejection often leads to membership in an authoritarian cult and the acceptance of socially dangerous beliefs. Steve and Jon discuss ways to approach this problem.  Links:  here's a pretty good breakdown of Humpty Dumpty More about the Milgram Experiment Zimbardo's Heroic Imagination Project more on the Mendota Study buy Jon's latest book, If Scientology Ruled the World And listen to a free sample here And his translation of the Tao Te Ching And here's Spike's YouTube