Podcasts about Scientology

Group of religious beliefs and practices created by American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard

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Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
The Tragic Death of Stacy Moxon Meyer: Scientology's Dark Secret

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2025 83:34 Transcription Available


Send us a textTwenty-five years ago, on June 25, 2000, Stacy Moxon Meyer took her own life at Scientology's secretive Gold Base in Gilman Hot Springs, California. She was just 20 years old. In this powerful and emotional conversation, Claire Headley is joined by former high-ranking Scientology executive Tom DeVocht to uncover the truth behind this tragedy and expose the organization's elaborate cover-up.Claire and Tom take listeners deep inside the oppressive world of Scientology's Sea Organization, where Stacy had been separated from her husband for nearly two years, forced to work at a location so secretive her own spouse wasn't permitted to know where she was. The night before her death, Stacy had desperately sought permission to visit her husband in Los Angeles but was denied – a routine occurrence in an organization that systematically restricted members' movements and personal freedoms.What followed was a calculated deception. Scientology officials, including Warren McShane (described by David Miscavige himself as "a professional liar"), concocted a story that Stacy had been electrocuted while chasing a squirrel into an electrical vault. Claire and Tom methodically dismantle this narrative using police reports and firsthand knowledge, revealing how statements to law enforcement changed throughout the day as the cover-up was coordinated.Both hosts share their personal connections to the case – Claire was on the property that day and witnessed the aftermath, while Tom observed David Miscavige's cold reaction to the news while on a yacht trip. Their insider perspectives illuminate how Scientology's leadership, particularly David Miscavige, maintains absolute control over every aspect of the organization, from who could leave the property to how tragedies are hidden from public view.This episode stands as a memorial to Stacy and a powerful indictment of the conditions that led to her death. Through their testimony, Claire and Tom ensure that Stacy's story won't be forgotten and continue their mission to expose the abuses that persist behind Scientology's walls to this day.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

Matt Cox Inside True Crime Podcast
SCIENTOLOGY SECRETS EXPOSED

Matt Cox Inside True Crime Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 7, 2025 133:15


Aaron Smith-Levin is a former Scientologist, Vice President of the Aftermath Foundation, and host of the Growing Up In Scientology YouTube channel.https://www.youtube.com/@GrowingUpInScientology Get your Free Credit Lettershttps://www.mattcoxcourses.com/signupFollow me on all socials!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/insidetruecrime/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthewcoxtruecrimeDo you want to be a guest? Fill out the form https://forms.gle/5H7FnhvMHKtUnq7k7Send me an email here: insidetruecrime@gmail.comDo you want a custom "con man" painting to shown up at your doorstep every month? Subscribe to my Patreon: https: //www.patreon.com/insidetruecrimeDo you want a custom painting done by me? Check out my Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/coxpopartListen to my True Crime Podcasts anywhere: https://anchor.fm/mattcox Check out my true crime books! Shark in the Housing Pool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0851KBYCFBent: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV4GC7TMIt's Insanity: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KFYXKK8Devil Exposed: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TH1WT5GDevil Exposed (The Abridgment): https://www.amazon.com/dp/1070682438The Program: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0858W4G3KBailout: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bailout-matthew-cox/1142275402Dude, Where's My Hand-Grenade?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXNFHBDF/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678623676&sr=1-1Checkout my disturbingly twisted satiric novel!Stranger Danger: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BSWQP3WXIf you would like to support me directly, I accept donations here:Paypal: https://www.paypal.me/MattCox69Cashapp: $coxcon69

Unfiltered Rise
191. Scientology Cult of Xenu???

Unfiltered Rise

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2025 133:02


Guest Speaker: Rare Candy https://open.spotify.com/show/2cXVcvC3G13PGUuYMVLGZb?si=kY6S-lPHSZuyYhOz3KwCgwhttps://rarecandy.substack.com/Occult Rejectshttps://youtube.com/@theoccultrejects?si=G842YA-DmraAGB_3https://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/https://www.instagram.com/theoccultrejects?igsh=NHkwMW1sOWdnM2dhThreshold Saints https://open.spotify.com/show/00mctCzHpY42qk99LoImvw?si=IpU2dqNTQe-LrDmCh1uaPg Operation GCD: https://open.spotify.com/show/59GjKbZtfwGjmwpd53MGn1?si=eAwmaD7ORKWI6Q5YAN9dHAUnfiltered RIse Podcast LinksWebsite: https://unfilteredrisepodcast.com/Patreon: https://patreon.com/UnfilteredRise?X: https://x.com/unfilteredrise/status/1772012349551153303?s=46IG: https://www.instagram.com/unfilteredrise_podcast?igsh=MWE4NnQ2Y2Zxa3pnNw%3D%3D&utm_source=qrYouTube: https://youtube.com/@unfilteredrisepodcast?si=IMlOVdcKU6oj4N8sTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unfilteredrisepodcast?_t=8rjVXGsH2AY&_r=1Merch: https://heidi-luv-shop.fourthwall.com/Donations: buymeacoffee.com/unfilteredEPlease know my podcast and its information presented are for entertainment or informational purposes. I do not threaten or wish any harm to any nation,creed, color, religion etc ….

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
The Truth About "Clear" Has Nothing To Do With Clarity - Scientology Secrets #7

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 66:03 Transcription Available


Send us a textMarc and Claire Headley host a Friday evening Q&A session to answer viewer questions about Scientology while sharing insider experiences from their years in the Sea Organization.• Clearing up misconceptions about the state of "Clear" in Scientology and its marketing as a solution to life's problems• Revealing how Sea Org members were prevented from interacting with non-Scientologists in Clearwater• Explaining that Scientology has never "cleared" even a single city block despite decades of operation• Discussing L. Ron Hubbard's Mission Earth books and their inappropriate, explicit content• Analyzing how David Miscavige contradicts Hubbard's instructions while maintaining control• Estimating current Scientology membership at approximately 10,000 active members worldwide• Sharing respect for former members who speak out publicly about abuses• Breaking down why the "superhuman abilities" promised by OT levels fail to materializeJoin us next Sunday, June 8th, for a special episode. Support our channel through the merch store featuring Xenu-themed items, or pick up Marc's book "Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology."Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

Subconscious Realms
S4 EP 297 - Monolithic Government/Tom Cruise#33&Occult Practices - Hero Paranormal - Ryan Burns.

Subconscious Realms

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2025 79:09


Subconscious Realms Episode 297 - Monolithic Government / Tom Cruise #33 -Scientology & Dark Occult Practices - Left Hand Path Malarkey - Hero Paranormal / Space Wolf Research - Ryan Patrick Burns. Ladies & Gentlemen, on this Episode of Subconscious Realms we welcome back the "Brains" behind; - Space Wolf Research, Author, Host & Creator of;- Hero Paranormal Podcast, - Ryan Patrick Burns. Space Wolf Research being Neighbour of Skinwalker Ranch, Utah

Conspiracy Theory Or Not?
"SCIENTOLOGY EXPOSED: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mind Control Cult That Destroys Lives"

Conspiracy Theory Or Not?

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2025 51:14


Behind the celebrity endorsements and slick marketing lies one of the most dangerous and destructive cults in modern history. Scientology isn't a religion - it's a sophisticated criminal organization that uses psychological torture, financial extortion, and systematic abuse to control its victims while generating billions in tax-free profits. In this explosive exposé, we pull back the curtain on L. Ron Hubbard's twisted empire of manipulation and reveal the horrifying truth about what really happens inside the Church of Scientology's walls.Prepare to be shocked as we expose Scientology's most sinister practices: the "Fair Game" policy that authorizes the destruction of anyone who opposes them, the psychological torture techniques disguised as spiritual counseling, and the prison camps where dissidents are held against their will. We'll reveal how they infiltrated the IRS to gain religious tax exemption, the massive intelligence operation they ran against the U.S. government, and the systematic harassment campaigns that have driven critics to suicide. From forced abortions in the Sea Organization to children separated from their parents and forced into slave labor, from the mysterious deaths of former members to the billion-dollar real estate empire built on human suffering - this isn't spirituality, it's organized crime.But here's what they desperately don't want you to know: the celebrities are prisoners too. We'll expose how Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and other A-list stars are being blackmailed with their deepest secrets recorded during "auditing" sessions, why high-profile defectors face decades of stalking and intimidation, and how Scientology's leader David Miscavige rules through violence and terror. The missing persons cases, the suspicious deaths, the families torn apart forever - Scientology leaves a trail of destruction wherever it goes.They call it a church, but it's actually a psychological gulag designed to extract every penny from your bank account while destroying your mind, your family, and your life. And they're still recruiting new victims every single day.

DECODING BABYLON PODCAST
DINOSAURS ARE DRAGONS - JTs Mix Tape Episode 35 Uncensored

DECODING BABYLON PODCAST

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2025 101:01


JT's Mix Tape Episode 35In this episode of JT's Mixtape, JT &  @demonerasers  delve into a variety of unconventional topics, starting with a discussion on current events and the implications of U.S. involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts. The conversation then shifts to mythology, focusing on dragons and their representation in culture, before concluding with a critical examination of dinosaurs and their portrayal in modern science. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the controversial topics of reptilians, dinosaurs, and the historical narratives surrounding them. They discuss the idea that dinosaurs may be a cover story for the existence of dragons and giants, and how the flood may have impacted the fossil record. The conversation also touches on the metamorphosis of creatures, the influence of mythology on our understanding of history, and the connections between literature and the occult. Additionally, they explore the implications of Scientology and the nature of stories in shaping our perception of truth, culminating in a discussion about war memorials in Melbourne Australia.Please support our sponsor Modern Roots Life: https://modernrootslife.com/?bg_ref=rVWsBoOfcFPatreon: https://patreon.com/JT_Follows_JC?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLinkJESUS SAID THERE WOULD BE HATERS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/mens-shirts/WOMEN'S SHIRTS: https://jtfollowsjc.com/product-category/womens-shirts/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/jt-s-mix-tape--6579902/support.

Kreative Kontrol
Ep. #991: Elle Barbara

Kreative Kontrol

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 64:46


Elle Barbara is here to discuss Word On The Street by Elle Barbara's Black Space, Montreal construction, putting on a performance this past May in which she got married to herself, exploring terms like autogynegamy and sologamy, how this album examines and critiques food, consumerism, and classism, street art and conspiracies regarding capitalism, alienation and Scientology, working with producer Renny Wilson and the story behind the Black Space band, what's next, and much more.EVERY OTHER COMPLETE KREATIVE KONTROL EPISODE IS ONLY ACCESSIBLE TO MONTHLY $6 USD PATREON SUPPORTERS. This one is fine, but please subscribe now on Patreon so you never miss full episodes. Thanks!Thanks to the Bookshelf, Planet Bean Coffee, and Grandad's Donuts. Support Y.E.S.S., Pride Centre of Edmonton, and Letters Charity. Follow vish online. Support vish on Patreon!Related episodes/links:Ep. #983: Bells LarsenEp. #974: Niko StratisEp. #893: Energy SlimeEp. #885: LaughingEp. #810: Markus FloatsEp. #809: Faith HealerEp. #545: Owen Pallett Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/kreative-kontrol. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ben and Skin Show
Top Movies of the 21st Century: 49-40

The Ben and Skin Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2025 7:12 Transcription Available


“Is ‘Amélie' really a better love story than ‘Road House'? And did Jonah Hill actually make baseball interesting?”In this delightfully unpredictable episode of The Ben and Skin Show, Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Kevin “KT” Turner, and Krystina “K-Ray” Ray—dives headfirst into the New York Times' Top 100 Movies of the 21st Century list, and things get hilariously off the rails.From debating the emotional power of Amélie to questioning the realism of Moneyball, the gang brings their signature mix of insight, irreverence, and movie nerd passion. Skin breaks down the brilliance (and frustration) of The Master, KT confesses his confusion over Oldboy, and Ben can't stop laughing at the idea of Road House being the gold standard for romance.Funniest and Most Memorable Moments:“Is Hopper most known for Easy Rider?” “No. Hoosiers.” “No. Speed.” — A perfectly chaotic filmography debate.

The Big Truth Podcast
#144- The Process Church : A Dark Web of Cults, Serial Killers, Traffickers, & Intelligence Ops – With Austin Picard

The Big Truth Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2025 189:06


In this episode Truth chops it up with Austin Wade Picard, who is a researcher and podcaster. Austin hosts multiple podcasts, including: The Underclass Podcast, Whatever This Is, The Morning Dump, and more! This episode is centered on nefarious networks of depravity.  In particular, we discuss the Process Church of the Final Judgment – a notorious cult that originated in the UK during the 1960's and quickly spread internationally.  We explore the Process and its' ties to Scientology, various satanic groups, infamous serial killers (such as Charles Manson, David Berkowitz – the son of Sam, John Wayne, Gacy, Henry, Lee, Lucas, and Otis, Jeffrey Dahmer, as well as Jim Jones and more), traffickers, and intelligence operations.  This is a dark episode that explode explores the interface between cults, shadow organizations, intelligence, power bases, and the ruling elite.  It's  a fast paced deep dive - so have a pencil and paper ready and be prepared to take notes to follow up on later! For more info: IG: @theatrethug Web: http://www.patreon.com/TheUnderclassPodcast   As always, please hit the subscribe button if you like and support what we do! You'll get early access to new episodes! Also please leave a review!   Follow us on IG: @bigtruth TikTok: @bigtruthpodcast YouTube: @thebigtruthpodcast   For feedback, questions, sponsorship info contact: bigtruthpodcast@gmail.com For more info: http://www.bigtruthpodcast.com To support the show: http://www.patreon.com/bigtruth    The Big Truth Podcast is proudly sponsored by: - Choppahead Kustom Cycles (IG: @choppahead / www.choppahead.com) - Jeffrey Glassman Injury Attorneys ( www.jeffreyglassman.com )  IG: @gottagetglassman - Tattoo Flash Collective – www.tattooflashcollective.com – use promo code: BIGTRUTH for 10% off your order - Omerta (IG: @omertamia / www.omertamia.com) - use code: BIGTRUTH at checkout for 20% off your order! - Heavy (IG: @heavyclothing / www.heavy.bigcartel.com)  

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
Working 100+ hours is just another week in the Sea Organization. Scientology Q&A #44

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2025 67:37 Transcription Available


Send us a textMarc Headley unveils the grueling daily schedule of Scientology's Sea Organization members, from early morning musters to midnight cleaning sessions, and everything in between.• Sea Org members work approximately 100-120 hours weekly for about $50 ($45 after taxes)• Basic schedule runs from 9am to midnight daily, with additional all-nighters expected at least once weekly• Members perform "Chinese School" at musters, reciting Scientology definitions and policies in unison• Saturday "renovations" require all members to perform construction, maintenance, or landscaping regardless of their regular position• Food budget for Sea Org members is approximately $1 per person per day• Sea Org members receive less compensation and time off than prison inmates or factory workers in developing countries• Members develop creative strategies to catch sleep, including hiding in auditing rooms where disturbance is prohibited• David Miscavige's inspections create "chaos machines" resulting in additional work, reassignments, or punishmentsIf you want to learn more about life in Scientology's Sea Organization, check out Marc's book "Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology" available in hardback, Kindle, and Audible.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs
Song 178: “Who Knows Where the Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, Part Two: “I Have no Thought of Time”

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025


For those who haven't heard the announcement I posted, songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?” by Fairport Convention, and the intertwining careers of Joe Boyd, Sandy Denny, and Richard Thompson. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a forty-one-minute bonus episode available, on Judy Collins’ version of this song. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by editing, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Erratum For about an hour this was uploaded with the wrong Elton John clip in place of “Saturday Sun”. This has now been fixed. Resources Because of the increasing problems with Mixcloud’s restrictions, I have decided to start sharing streaming playlists of the songs used in episodes instead of Mixcloud ones. This Tunemymusic link will let you listen to the playlist I created on your streaming platform of choice — however please note that not all the songs excerpted are currently available on streaming. The songs missing from the Tidal version are “Shanten Bells” by the Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” by A.L. Lloyd, two by Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, three by Elton John & Linda Peters, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow” by Sandy Denny and “You Never Know” by Charlie Drake, but the other fifty-nine are there. Other songs may be missing from other services. The main books I used on Fairport Convention as a whole were Patrick Humphries' Meet On The Ledge, Clinton Heylin's What We Did Instead of Holidays, and Kevan Furbank's Fairport Convention on Track. Rob Young's Electric Eden is the most important book on the British folk-rock movement. Information on Richard Thompson comes from Patrick Humphries' Richard Thompson: Strange Affair and Thompson's own autobiography Beeswing.  Information on Sandy Denny comes from Clinton Heylin's No More Sad Refrains and Mick Houghton's I've Always Kept a Unicorn. I also used Joe Boyd's autobiography White Bicycles and Chris Blackwell's The Islander.  And this three-CD set is the best introduction to Fairport's music currently in print. Transcript Before we begin, this episode contains reference to alcohol and cocaine abuse and medical neglect leading to death. It also starts with some discussion of the fatal car accident that ended last episode. There’s also some mention of child neglect and spousal violence. If that’s likely to upset you, you might want to skip this episode or read the transcript. One of the inspirations for this podcast when I started it back in 2018 was a project by Richard Thompson, which appears (like many things in Thompson’s life) to have started out of sheer bloody-mindedness. In 1999 Playboy magazine asked various people to list their “songs of the Millennium”, and most of them, understanding the brief, chose a handful of songs from the latter half of the twentieth century. But Thompson determined that he was going to list his favourite songs *of the millennium*. He didn’t quite manage that, but he did cover seven hundred and forty years, and when Playboy chose not to publish it, he decided to turn it into a touring show, in which he covered all his favourite songs from “Sumer Is Icumen In” from 1260: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Sumer is Icumen In”] Through numerous traditional folk songs, union songs like “Blackleg Miner”, pieces by early-modern composers, Victorian and Edwardian music hall songs, and songs by the Beatles, the Ink Spots, the Kinks, and the Who, all the way to “Oops! I Did It Again”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Oops! I Did it Again”] And to finish the show, and to show how all this music actually ties together, he would play what he described as a “medieval tune from Brittany”, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “Marry, Ageyn Hic Hev Donne Yt”] We have said many times in this podcast that there is no first anything, but there’s a reason that Liege and Lief, Fairport Convention’s third album of 1969, and the album other than Unhalfbricking on which their reputation largely rests, was advertised with the slogan “The first (literally) British folk rock album ever”. Folk-rock, as the term had come to be known, and as it is still usually used today, had very little to do with traditional folk music. Rather, the records of bands like The Byrds or Simon and Garfunkel were essentially taking the sounds of British beat groups of the early sixties, particularly the Searchers, and applying those sounds to material by contemporary singer-songwriters. People like Paul Simon and Bob Dylan had come up through folk clubs, and their songs were called folk music because of that, but they weren’t what folk music had meant up to that point — songs that had been collected after being handed down through the folk process, changed by each individual singer, with no single identifiable author. They were authored songs by very idiosyncratic writers. But over their last few albums, Fairport Convention had done one or two tracks per album that weren’t like that, that were instead recordings of traditional folk songs, but arranged with rock instrumentation. They were not necessarily the first band to try traditional folk music with electric instruments — around the same time that Fairport started experimenting with the idea, so did an Irish band named Sweeney’s Men, who brought in a young electric guitarist named Henry McCullough briefly. But they do seem to have been the first to have fully embraced the idea. They had done so to an extent with “A Sailor’s Life” on Unhalfbricking, but now they were going to go much further: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves” (from about 4:30)] There had been some doubt as to whether Fairport Convention would even continue to exist — by the time Unhalfbricking, their second album of the year, was released, they had been through the terrible car accident that had killed Martin Lamble, the band’s drummer, and Jeannie Franklyn, Richard Thompson’s girlfriend. Most of the rest of the band had been seriously injured, and they had made a conscious decision not to discuss the future of the band until they were all out of hospital. Ashley Hutchings was hospitalised the longest, and Simon Nicol, Richard Thompson, and Sandy Denny, the other three surviving members of the band, flew over to LA with their producer and manager, Joe Boyd, to recuperate there and get to know the American music scene. When they came back, the group all met up in the flat belonging to Denny’s boyfriend Trevor Lucas, and decided that they were going to continue the band. They made a few decisions then — they needed a new drummer, and as well as a drummer they wanted to get in Dave Swarbrick. Swarbrick had played violin on several tracks on Unhalfbricking as a session player, and they had all been thrilled to work with him. Swarbrick was one of the most experienced musicians on the British folk circuit. He had started out in the fifties playing guitar with Beryl Marriott’s Ceilidh Band before switching to fiddle, and in 1963, long before Fairport had formed, he had already appeared on TV with the Ian Campbell Folk Group, led by Ian Campbell, the father of Ali and Robin Campbell, later of UB40: [Excerpt: The Ian Campbell Folk Group, “Shanten Bells (medley on Hullaballoo!)”] He’d sung with Ewan MacColl and A.L. Lloyd: [Excerpt: A.L. Lloyd, “Tom’s Gone to Hilo” ] And he’d formed his hugely successful duo with Martin Carthy, releasing records like “Byker Hill” which are often considered among the best British folk music of all time: [Excerpt: Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, “Byker Hill”] By the time Fairport had invited him to play on Unhalfbricking, Swarbrick had already performed on twenty albums as a core band member, plus dozens more EPs, singles, and odd tracks on compilations. They had no reason to think they could actually get him to join their band. But they had three advantages. The first was that Swarbrick was sick of the traditional folk scene at the time, saying later “I didn’t like seven-eighths of the people involved in it, and it was extremely opportune to leave. I was suddenly presented with the possibilities of exploring the dramatic content of the songs to the full.” The second was that he was hugely excited to be playing with Richard Thompson, who was one of the most innovative guitarists of his generation, and Martin Carthy remembers him raving about Thompson after their initial sessions. (Carthy himself was and is no slouch on the guitar of course, and there was even talk of getting him to join the band at this point, though they decided against it — much to the relief of rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol, who is a perfectly fine player himself but didn’t want to be outclassed by *two* of the best guitarists in Britain at the same time). And the third was that Joe Boyd told him that Fairport were doing so well — they had a single just about to hit the charts with “Si Tu Dois Partir” — that he would only have to play a dozen gigs with Fairport in order to retire. As it turned out, Swarbrick would play with the group for a decade, and would never retire — I saw him on his last tour in 2015, only eight months before he died. The drummer the group picked was also a far more experienced musician than any of the rest, though in a very different genre. Dave Mattacks had no knowledge at all of the kind of music they played, having previously been a player in dance bands. When asked by Hutchings if he wanted to join the band, Mattacks’ response was “I don’t know anything about the music. I don’t understand it… I can’t tell one tune from another, they all sound the same… but if you want me to join the group, fine, because I really like it. I’m enjoying myself musically.” Mattacks brought a new level of professionalism to the band, thanks to his different background. Nicol said of him later “He was dilligent, clean, used to taking three white shirts to a gig… The application he could bring to his playing was amazing. With us, you only played well when you were feeling well.” This distinction applied to his playing as well. Nicol would later describe the difference between Mattacks’ drumming and Lamble’s by saying “Martin’s strength was as an imaginative drummer. DM came in with a strongly developed sense of rhythm, through keeping a big band of drunken saxophone players in order. A great time-keeper.” With this new line-up and a new sense of purpose, the group did as many of their contemporaries were doing and “got their heads together in the country”. Joe Boyd rented the group a mansion, Farley House, in Farley Chamberlayne, Hampshire, and they stayed there together for three months. At the start, the group seem to have thought that they were going to make another record like Unhalfbricking, with some originals, some songs by American songwriters, and a few traditional songs. Even after their stay in Farley Chamberlayne, in fact, they recorded a few of the American songs they’d rehearsed at the start of the process, Richard Farina’s “Quiet Joys of Brotherhood” and Bob Dylan and Roger McGuinn’s “Ballad of Easy Rider”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Ballad of Easy Rider”] Indeed, the whole idea of “getting our heads together in the country” (as the cliche quickly became in the late sixties as half of the bands in Britain went through much the same kind of process as Fairport were doing — but usually for reasons more to do with drug burnout or trend following than recovering from serious life-changing trauma) seems to have been inspired by Bob Dylan and the Band getting together in Big Pink. But very quickly they decided to follow the lead of Ashley Hutchings, who had had something of a Damascene conversion to the cause of traditional English folk music. They were listening mostly to Music From Big Pink by the Band, and to the first album by Sweeney’s Men: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “The Handsome Cabin Boy”] And they decided that they were going to make something that was as English as those records were North American and Irish (though in the event there were also a few Scottish songs included on the record). Hutchings in particular was becoming something of a scholar of traditional music, regularly visiting Cecil Sharp House and having long conversations with A.L. Lloyd, discovering versions of different traditional songs he’d never encountered before. This was both amusing and bemusing Sandy Denny, who had joined a rock group in part to get away from traditional music; but she was comfortable singing the material, and knew a lot of it and could make a lot of suggestions herself. Swarbrick obviously knew the repertoire intimately, and Nicol was amenable, while Mattacks was utterly clueless about the folk tradition at this point but knew this was the music he wanted to make. Thompson knew very little about traditional music, and of all the band members except Denny he was the one who has shown the least interest in the genre in his subsequent career — but as we heard at the beginning, showing the least interest in the genre is a relative thing, and while Thompson was not hugely familiar with the genre, he *was* able to work with it, and was also more than capable of writing songs that fit in with the genre. Of the eleven songs on the album, which was titled Liege and Lief (which means, roughly, Lord and Loyalty), there were no cover versions of singer-songwriters. Eight were traditional songs, and three were originals, all written in the style of traditional songs. The album opened with “Come All Ye”, an introduction written by Denny and Hutchings (the only time the two would ever write together): [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Come All Ye”] The other two originals were songs where Thompson had written new lyrics to traditional melodies. On “Crazy Man Michael”, Swarbrick had said to Thompson that the tune to which he had set his new words was weaker than the lyrics, to which Thompson had replied that if Swarbrick felt that way he should feel free to write a new melody. He did, and it became the first of the small number of Thompson/Swarbrick collaborations: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Crazy Man Michael”] Thompson and Swarbrick would become a brief songwriting team, but as much as anything else it was down to proximity — the two respected each other as musicians, but never got on very well. In 1981 Swarbrick would say “Richard and I never got on in the early days of FC… we thought we did, but we never did. We composed some bloody good songs together, but it was purely on a basis of “you write that and I’ll write this, and we’ll put it together.” But we never sat down and had real good chats.” The third original on the album, and by far the most affecting, is another song where Thompson put lyrics to a traditional tune. In this case he thought he was putting the lyrics to the tune of “Willie O'Winsbury”, but he was basing it on a recording by Sweeney’s Men. The problem was that Sweeney’s Men had accidentally sung the lyrics of “Willie O'Winsbury'” to the tune of a totally different song, “Fause Foodrage”: [Excerpt: Sweeney’s Men, “Willie O’Winsbury”] Thompson took that melody, and set to it lyrics about loss and separation. Thompson has never been one to discuss the meanings of his lyrics in any great detail, and in the case of this one has said “I really don't know what it means. This song came out of a dream, and I pretty much wrote it as I dreamt it (it was the sixties), and didn't spend very long analyzing it. So interpret as you wish – or replace with your own lines.” But in the context of the traffic accident that had killed his tailor girlfriend and a bandmate, and injured most of his other bandmates, the lyrics about lonely travellers, the winding road, bruised and beaten sons, saying goodbye, and never cutting cloth, seem fairly self-explanatory: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Farewell, Farewell”] The rest of the album, though, was taken up by traditional tunes. There was a long medley of four different fiddle reels; a version of “Reynardine” (a song about a seductive man — or is he a fox? Or perhaps both — which had been recorded by Swarbrick and Carthy on their most recent album); a 19th century song about a deserter saved from the firing squad by Prince Albert; and a long take on “Tam Lin”, one of the most famous pieces in the Scottish folk music canon, a song that has been adapted in different ways by everyone from the experimental noise band Current 93 to the dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah to the comics writer Grant Morrison: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Tam Lin”] And “Matty Groves”, a song about a man killing his cheating wife and her lover, which actually has a surprisingly similar story to that of “1921” from another great concept album from that year, the Who’s Tommy. “Matty Groves” became an excuse for long solos and shows of instrumental virtuosity: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Matty Groves”] The album was recorded in September 1969, after their return from their break in the country and a triumphal performance at the Royal Festival Hall, headlining over fellow Witchseason artists John and Beverly Martyn and Nick Drake. It became a classic of the traditional folk genre — arguably *the* classic of the traditional folk genre. In 2007 BBC Radio 2’s Folk Music Awards gave it an award for most influential folk album of all time, and while such things are hard to measure, I doubt there’s anyone with even the most cursory knowledge of British folk and folk-rock music who would not at least consider that a reasonable claim. But once again, by the time the album came out in November, the band had changed lineups yet again. There was a fundamental split in the band – on one side were Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, whose stance was, roughly, that Liege and Lief was a great experiment and a fun thing to do once, but really the band had two first-rate songwriters in themselves, and that they should be concentrating on their own new material, not doing these old songs, good as they were. They wanted to take the form of the traditional songs and use that form for new material — they wanted to make British folk-rock, but with the emphasis on the rock side of things. Hutchings, on the other hand, was equally sure that he wanted to make traditional music and go further down the rabbit hole of antiquity. With the zeal of the convert he had gone in a couple of years from being the leader of a band who were labelled “the British Jefferson Airplane” to becoming a serious scholar of traditional folk music. Denny was tired of touring, as well — she wanted to spend more time at home with Trevor Lucas, who was sleeping with other women when she was away and making her insecure. When the time came for the group to go on a tour of Denmark, Denny decided she couldn’t make it, and Hutchings was jubilant — he decided he was going to get A.L. Lloyd into the band in her place and become a *real* folk group. Then Denny reconsidered, and Hutchings was crushed. He realised that while he had always been the leader, he wasn’t going to be able to lead the band any further in the traditionalist direction, and quit the group — but not before he was delegated by the other band members to fire Denny. Until the publication of Richard Thompson’s autobiography in 2022, every book on the group or its members said that Denny quit the band again, which was presumably a polite fiction that the band agreed, but according to Thompson “Before we flew home, we decided to fire Sandy. I don't remember who asked her to leave – it was probably Ashley, who usually did the dirty work. She was reportedly shocked that we would take that step. She may have been fragile beneath the confident facade, but she still knew her worth.” Thompson goes on to explain that the reasons for kicking her out were that “I suppose we felt that in her mind she had already left” and that “We were probably suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, though there wasn't a name for it back then.” They had considered inviting Trevor Lucas to join the band to make Denny more comfortable, but came to the (probably correct) conclusion that while he was someone they got on well with personally, he would be another big ego in a band that already had several, and that being around Denny and Lucas’ volatile relationship would, in Thompson’s phrasing, “have not always given one a feeling of peace and stability.” Hutchings originally decided he was going to join Sweeney’s Men, but that group were falling apart, and their first rehearsal with Hutchings would also be their last as a group, with only Hutchings and guitarist and mandolin player Terry Woods left in the band. They added Woods’ wife Gay, and another couple, Tim Hart and Maddy Prior, and formed a group called Steeleye Span, a name given them by Martin Carthy. That group, like Fairport, went to “get their heads together in the country” for three months and recorded an album of electric versions of traditional songs, Hark the Village Wait, on which Mattacks and another drummer, Gerry Conway, guested as Steeleye Span didn’t at the time have their own drummer: [Excerpt: Steeleye Span, “Blackleg Miner”] Steeleye Span would go on to have a moderately successful chart career in the seventies, but by that time most of the original lineup, including Hutchings, had left — Hutchings stayed with them for a few albums, then went on to form the first of a series of bands, all called the Albion Band or variations on that name, which continue to this day. And this is something that needs to be pointed out at this point — it is impossible to follow every single individual in this narrative as they move between bands. There is enough material in the history of the British folk-rock scene that someone could do a 500 Songs-style podcast just on that, and every time someone left Fairport, or Steeleye Span, or the Albion Band, or Matthews’ Southern Comfort, or any of the other bands we have mentioned or will mention, they would go off and form another band which would then fission, and some of its members would often join one of those other bands. There was a point in the mid-1970s where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport Convention while Fairport Convention had none. So just in order to keep the narrative anything like wieldy, I’m going to keep the narrative concentrated on the two figures from Fairport — Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson — whose work outside the group has had the most influence on the wider world of rock music more broadly, and only deal with the other members when, as they often did, their careers intersected with those two. That doesn’t mean the other members are not themselves hugely important musicians, just that their importance has been primarily to the folk side of the folk-rock genre, and so somewhat outside the scope of this podcast. While Hutchings decided to form a band that would allow him to go deeper and deeper into traditional folk music, Sandy Denny’s next venture was rather different. For a long time she had been writing far more songs than she had ever played for her bandmates, like “Nothing More”, a song that many have suggested is about Thompson: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Nothing More”] When Joe Boyd heard that Denny was leaving Fairport Convention, he was at first elated. Fairport’s records were being distributed by A&M in the US at that point, but Island Records was in the process of opening up a new US subsidiary which would then release all future Fairport product — *but*, as far as A&M were concerned, Sandy Denny *was* Fairport Convention. They were only interested in her. Boyd, on the other hand, loved Denny’s work intensely, but from his point of view *Richard Thompson* was Fairport Convention. If he could get Denny signed directly to A&M as a solo artist before Island started its US operations, Witchseason could get a huge advance on her first solo record, while Fairport could continue making records for Island — he’d have two lucrative acts, on different labels. Boyd went over and spoke to A&M and got an agreement in principle that they would give Denny a forty-thousand-dollar advance on her first solo album — twice what they were paying for Fairport albums. The problem was that Denny didn’t want to be a solo act. She wanted to be the lead singer of a band. She gave many reasons for this — the one she gave to many journalists was that she had seen a Judy Collins show and been impressed, but noticed that Collins’ band were definitely a “backing group”, and as she put it “But that's all they were – a backing group. I suddenly thought, If you're playing together on a stage you might as well be TOGETHER.” Most other people in her life, though, say that the main reason for her wanting to be in a band was her desire to be with her boyfriend, Trevor Lucas. Partly this was due to a genuine desire to spend more time with someone with whom she was very much in love, partly it was a fear that he would cheat on her if she was away from him for long periods of time, and part of it seems to have been Lucas’ dislike of being *too* overshadowed by his talented girlfriend — he didn’t mind acknowledging that she was a major talent, but he wanted to be thought of as at least a minor one. So instead of going solo, Denny formed Fotheringay, named after the song she had written for Fairport. This new band consisted at first of Denny on vocals and occasional piano, Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, and Lucas’ old Eclection bandmate Gerry Conway on drums. For a lead guitarist, they asked Richard Thompson who the best guitarist in Britain was, and he told them Albert Lee. Lee in turn brought in bass player Pat Donaldson, but this lineup of the band barely survived a fortnight. Lee *was* arguably the best guitarist in Britain, certainly a reasonable candidate if you could ever have a singular best (as indeed was Thompson himself), but he was the best *country* guitarist in Britain, and his style simply didn’t fit with Fotheringay’s folk-influenced songs. He was replaced by American guitarist Jerry Donahue, who was not anything like as proficient as Lee, but who was still very good, and fit the band’s style much better. The new group rehearsed together for a few weeks, did a quick tour, and then went into the recording studio to record their debut, self-titled, album. Joe Boyd produced the album, but admitted himself that he only paid attention to those songs he considered worthwhile — the album contained one song by Lucas, “The Ballad of Ned Kelly”, and two cover versions of American singer-songwriter material with Lucas singing lead. But everyone knew that the songs that actually *mattered* were Sandy Denny’s, and Boyd was far more interested in them, particularly the songs “The Sea” and “The Pond and the Stream”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “The Pond and the Stream”] Fotheringay almost immediately hit financial problems, though. While other Witchseason acts were used to touring on the cheap, all packed together in the back of a Transit van with inexpensive equipment, Trevor Lucas had ambitions of being a rock star and wanted to put together a touring production to match, with expensive transport and equipment, including a speaker system that got nicknamed “Stonehenge” — but at the same time, Denny was unhappy being on the road, and didn’t play many gigs. As well as the band itself, the Fotheringay album also featured backing vocals from a couple of other people, including Denny’s friend Linda Peters. Peters was another singer from the folk clubs, and a good one, though less well-known than Denny — at this point she had only released a couple of singles, and those singles seemed to have been as much as anything else released as a novelty. The first of those, a version of Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” had been released as by “Paul McNeill and Linda Peters”: [Excerpt: Paul McNeill and Linda Peters, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”] But their second single, a version of John D. Loudermilk’s “You’re Taking My Bag”, was released on the tiny Page One label, owned by Larry Page, and was released under the name “Paul and Linda”, clearly with the intent of confusing particularly gullible members of the record-buying public into thinking this was the McCartneys: [Excerpt: Paul and Linda, “You’re Taking My Bag”] Peters was though more financially successful than almost anyone else in this story, as she was making a great deal of money as a session singer. She actually did another session involving most of Fotheringay around this time. Witchseason had a number of excellent songwriters on its roster, and had had some success getting covers by people like Judy Collins, but Joe Boyd thought that they might possibly do better at getting cover versions if they were performed in less idiosyncratic arrangements. Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway went into the studio to record backing tracks, and vocals were added by Peters and another session singer, who according to some sources also provided piano. They cut songs by Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “You Get Brighter”] Ed Carter, formerly of The New Nadir but by this time firmly ensconced in the Beach Boys’ touring band where he would remain for the next quarter-century: [Excerpt: Linda Peters, “I Don’t Mind”] John and Beverly Martyn, and Nick Drake: [Excerpt: Elton John, “Saturday Sun”] There are different lineups of musicians credited for those sessions in different sources, but I tend to believe that it’s mostly Fotheringay for the simple reason that Donahue says it was him, Donaldson and Conway who talked Lucas and Denny into the mistake that destroyed Fotheringay because of these sessions. Fotheringay were in financial trouble already, spending far more money than they were bringing in, but their album made the top twenty and they were getting respect both from critics and from the public — in September, Sandy Denny was voted best British female singer by the readers of Melody Maker in their annual poll, which led to shocked headlines in the tabloids about how this “unknown” could have beaten such big names as Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Only a couple of weeks after that, they were due to headline at the Albert Hall. It should have been a triumph. But Donahue, Donaldson, and Conway had asked that singing pianist to be their support act. As Donahue said later “That was a terrible miscast. It was our fault. He asked if [he] could do it. Actually Pat, Gerry and I had to talk Sandy and Trevor into [it]… We'd done these demos and the way he was playing – he was a wonderful piano player – he was sensitive enough. We knew very little about his stage-show. We thought he'd be a really good opener for us.” Unfortunately, Elton John was rather *too* good. As Donahue continued “we had no idea what he had in mind, that he was going to do the most incredible rock & roll show ever. He pretty much blew us off the stage before we even got on the stage.” To make matters worse, Fotheringay’s set, which was mostly comprised of new material, was underrehearsed and sloppy, and from that point on no matter what they did people were counting the hours until the band split up. They struggled along for a while though, and started working on a second record, with Boyd again producing, though as Boyd later said “I probably shouldn't have been producing the record. My lack of respect for the group was clear, and couldn't have helped the atmosphere. We'd put out a record that had sold disappointingly, A&M was unhappy. Sandy's tracks on the first record are among the best things she ever did – the rest of it, who cares? And the artwork, Trevor's sister, was terrible. It would have been one thing if I'd been unhappy with it and it sold, and the group was working all the time, making money, but that wasn't the case … I knew what Sandy was capable of, and it was very upsetting to me.” The record would not be released for thirty-eight years: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “Wild Mountain Thyme”] Witchseason was going badly into debt. Given all the fissioning of bands that we’ve already been talking about, Boyd had been stretched thin — he produced sixteen albums in 1970, and almost all of them lost money for the company. And he was getting more and more disillusioned with the people he was producing. He loved Beverly Martyn’s work, but had little time for her abusive husband John, who was dominating her recording and life more and more and would soon become a solo artist while making her stay at home (and stealing her ideas without giving her songwriting credit). The Incredible String Band were great, but they had recently converted to Scientology, which Boyd found annoying, and while he was working with all sorts of exciting artists like Vashti Bunyan and Nico, he was finding himself less and less important to the artists he mentored. Fairport Convention were a good example of this. After Denny and Hutchings had left the group, they’d decided to carry on as an electric folk group, performing an equal mix of originals by the Swarbrick and Thompson songwriting team and arrangements of traditional songs. The group were now far enough away from the “British Jefferson Airplane” label that they decided they didn’t need a female vocalist — and more realistically, while they’d been able to replace Judy Dyble, nobody was going to replace Sandy Denny. Though it’s rather surprising when one considers Thompson’s subsequent career that nobody seems to have thought of bringing in Denny’s friend Linda Peters, who was dating Joe Boyd at the time (as Denny had been before she met Lucas) as Denny’s replacement. Instead, they decided that Swarbrick and Thompson were going to share the vocals between them. They did, though, need a bass player to replace Hutchings. Swarbrick wanted to bring in Dave Pegg, with whom he had played in the Ian Campbell Folk Group, but the other band members initially thought the idea was a bad one. At the time, while they respected Swarbrick as a musician, they didn’t think he fully understood rock and roll yet, and they thought the idea of getting in a folkie who had played double bass rather than an electric rock bassist ridiculous. But they auditioned him to mollify Swarbrick, and found that he was exactly what they needed. As Joe Boyd later said “All those bass lines were great, Ashley invented them all, but he never could play them that well. He thought of them, but he was technically not a terrific bass player. He was a very inventive, melodic, bass player, but not a very powerful one technically. But having had the part explained to him once, Pegg was playing it better than Ashley had ever played it… In some rock bands, I think, ultimately, the bands that sound great, you can generally trace it to the bass player… it was at that point they became a great band, when they had Pegg.” The new lineup of Fairport decided to move in together, and found a former pub called the Angel, into which all the band members moved, along with their partners and children (Thompson was the only one who was single at this point) and their roadies. The group lived together quite happily, and one gets the impression that this was the period when they were most comfortable with each other, even though by this point they were a disparate group with disparate tastes, in music as in everything else. Several people have said that the only music all the band members could agree they liked at this point was the first two albums by The Band. With the departure of Hutchings from the band, Swarbrick and Thompson, as the strongest personalities and soloists, became in effect the joint leaders of the group, and they became collaborators as songwriters, trying to write new songs that were inspired by traditional music. Thompson described the process as “let’s take one line of this reel and slow it down and move it up a minor third and see what that does to it; let’s take one line of this ballad and make a whole song out of it. Chopping up the tradition to find new things to do… like a collage.” Generally speaking, Swarbrick and Thompson would sit by the fire and Swarbrick would play a melody he’d been working on, the two would work on it for a while, and Thompson would then go away and write the lyrics. This is how the two came up with songs like the nine-minute “Sloth”, a highlight of the next album, Full House, and one that would remain in Fairport’s live set for much of their career: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth”] “Sloth” was titled that way because Thompson and Swarbrick were working on two tunes, a slow one and a fast one, and they jokingly named them “Sloth” and “Fasth”, but the latter got renamed to “Walk Awhile”, while “Sloth” kept its working title. But by this point, Boyd and Thompson were having a lot of conflict in the studio. Boyd was never the most technical of producers — he was one of those producers whose job is to gently guide the artists in the studio and create a space for the music to flourish, rather than the Joe Meek type with an intimate technical knowledge of the studio — and as the artists he was working with gained confidence in their own work they felt they had less and less need of him. During the making of the Full House album, Thompson and Boyd, according to Boyd, clashed on everything — every time Boyd thought Thompson had done a good solo, Thompson would say to erase it and let him have another go, while every time Boyd thought Thompson could do better, Thompson would say that was the take to keep. One of their biggest clashes was over Thompson’s song “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”, which was originally intended for release on the album, and is included in current reissues of it: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Poor Will and the Jolly Hangman”] Thompson had written that song inspired by what he thought was the unjust treatment of Alex Bramham, the driver in Fairport’s fatal car crash, by the courts — Bramham had been given a prison sentence of a few months for dangerous driving, while the group members thought he had not been at fault. Boyd thought it was one of the best things recorded for the album, but Thompson wasn’t happy with his vocal — there was one note at the top of the melody that he couldn’t quite hit — and insisted it be kept off the record, even though that meant it would be a shorter album than normal. He did this at such a late stage that early copies of the album actually had the title printed on the sleeve, but then blacked out. He now says in his autobiography “I could have persevered, double-tracked the voice, warmed up for longer – anything. It was a good track, and the record was lacking without it. When the album was re-released, the track was restored with a more confident vocal, and it has stayed there ever since.” During the sessions for Full House the group also recorded one non-album single, Thompson and Swarbrick’s “Now Be Thankful”: [Excerpt, Fairport Convention, “Now Be Thankful”] The B-side to that was a medley of two traditional tunes plus a Swarbrick original, but was given the deliberately ridiculous title “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sir B. McKenzie’s Daughter’s Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion Of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie”] The B. McKenzie in the title was a reference to the comic-strip character Barry McKenzie, a stereotype drunk Australian created for Private Eye magazine by the comedian Barry Humphries (later to become better known for his Dame Edna Everage character) but the title was chosen for one reason only — to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the song with the longest title. Which they did, though they were later displaced by the industrial band Test Dept, and their song “Long Live British Democracy Which Flourishes and Is Constantly Perfected Under the Immaculate Guidance of the Great, Honourable, Generous and Correct Margaret Hilda Thatcher. She Is the Blue Sky in the Hearts of All Nations. Our People Pay Homage and Bow in Deep Respect and Gratitude to Her. The Milk of Human Kindness”. Full House got excellent reviews in the music press, with Rolling Stone saying “The music shows that England has finally gotten her own equivalent to The Band… By calling Fairport an English equivalent of the Band, I meant that they have soaked up enough of the tradition of their countryfolk that it begins to show all over, while they maintain their roots in rock.” Off the back of this, the group went on their first US tour, culminating in a series of shows at the Troubadour in LA, on the same bill as Rick Nelson, which were recorded and later released as a live album: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Sloth (live)”] The Troubadour was one of the hippest venues at the time, and over their residency there the group got seen by many celebrities, some of whom joined them on stage. The first was Linda Ronstadt, who initially demurred, saying she didn’t know any of their songs. On being told they knew all of hers, she joined in with a rendition of “Silver Threads and Golden Needles”. Thompson was later asked to join Ronstadt’s backing band, who would go on to become the Eagles, but he said later of this offer “I would have hated it. I’d have hated being on the road with four or five miserable Americans — they always seem miserable. And if you see them now, they still look miserable on stage — like they don’t want to be there and they don’t like each other.” The group were also joined on stage at the Troubadour on one memorable night by some former bandmates of Pegg’s. Before joining the Ian Campbell Folk Group, Pegg had played around the Birmingham beat scene, and had been in bands with John Bonham and Robert Plant, who turned up to the Troubadour with their Led Zeppelin bandmate Jimmy Page (reports differ on whether the fourth member of Zeppelin, John Paul Jones, also came along). They all got up on stage together and jammed on songs like “Hey Joe”, “Louie Louie”, and various old Elvis tunes. The show was recorded, and the tapes are apparently still in the possession of Joe Boyd, who has said he refuses to release them in case he is murdered by the ghost of Peter Grant. According to Thompson, that night ended in a three-way drinking contest between Pegg, Bonham, and Janis Joplin, and it’s testament to how strong the drinking culture is around Fairport and the British folk scene in general that Pegg outdrank both of them. According to Thompson, Bonham was found naked by a swimming pool two days later, having missed two gigs. For all their hard rock image, Led Zeppelin were admirers of a lot of the British folk and folk-rock scene, and a few months later Sandy Denny would become the only outside vocalist ever to appear on a Led Zeppelin record when she duetted with Plant on “The Battle of Evermore” on the group’s fourth album: [Excerpt: Led Zeppelin, “The Battle of Evermore”] Denny would never actually get paid for her appearance on one of the best-selling albums of all time. That was, incidentally, not the only session that Denny was involved in around this time — she also sang on the soundtrack to a soft porn film titled Swedish Fly Girls, whose soundtrack was produced by Manfred Mann: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “What Will I Do With Tomorrow?”] Shortly after Fairport’s trip to America, Joe Boyd decided he was giving up on Witchseason. The company was now losing money, and he was finding himself having to produce work for more and more acts as the various bands fissioned. The only ones he really cared about were Richard Thompson, who he was finding it more and more difficult to work with, Nick Drake, who wanted to do his next album with just an acoustic guitar anyway, Sandy Denny, who he felt was wasting her talents in Fotheringay, and Mike Heron of the Incredible String Band, who was more distant since his conversion to Scientology. Boyd did make some attempts to keep the company going. On a trip to Sweden, he negotiated an agreement with the manager and publisher of a Swedish band whose songs he’d found intriguing, the Hep Stars. Boyd was going to publish their songs in the UK, and in return that publisher, Stig Anderson, would get the rights to Witchseason’s catalogue in Scandinavia — a straight swap, with no money changing hands. But before Boyd could get round to signing the paperwork, he got a better offer from Mo Ostin of Warners — Ostin wanted Boyd to come over to LA and head up Warners’ new film music department. Boyd sold Witchseason to Island Records and moved to LA with his fiancee Linda Peters, spending the next few years working on music for films like Deliverance and A Clockwork Orange, as well as making his own documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and thus missed out on getting the UK publishing rights for ABBA, and all the income that would have brought him, for no money. And it was that decision that led to the breakup of Fotheringay. Just before Christmas 1970, Fotheringay were having a difficult session, recording the track “John the Gun”: [Excerpt: Fotheringay, “John the Gun”] Boyd got frustrated and kicked everyone out of the session, and went for a meal and several drinks with Denny. He kept insisting that she should dump the band and just go solo, and then something happened that the two of them would always describe differently. She asked him if he would continue to produce her records if she went solo, and he said he would. According to Boyd’s recollection of the events, he meant that he would fly back from California at some point to produce her records. According to Denny, he told her that if she went solo he would stay in Britain and not take the job in LA. This miscommunication was only discovered after Denny told the rest of Fotheringay after the Christmas break that she was splitting the band. Jerry Donahue has described that as the worst moment of his life, and Denny felt very guilty about breaking up a band with some of her closest friends in — and then when Boyd went over to the US anyway she felt a profound betrayal. Two days before Fotheringay’s final concert, in January 1971, Sandy Denny signed a solo deal with Island records, but her first solo album would not end up produced by Joe Boyd. Instead, The North Star Grassman and the Ravens was co-produced by Denny, John Wood — the engineer who had worked with Boyd on pretty much everything he’d produced, and Richard Thompson, who had just quit Fairport Convention, though he continued living with them at the Angel, at least until a truck crashed into the building in February 1971, destroying its entire front wall and forcing them to relocate. The songs chosen for The North Star Grassman and the Ravens reflected the kind of choices Denny would make on her future albums, and her eclectic taste in music. There was, of course, the obligatory Dylan cover, and the traditional folk ballad “Blackwaterside”, but there was also a cover version of Brenda Lee’s “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Let’s Jump the Broomstick”] Most of the album, though, was made up of originals about various people in Denny’s life, like “Next Time Around”, about her ex-boyfriend Jackson C Frank: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Next Time Around”] The album made the top forty in the UK — Denny’s only solo album to do so — and led to her once again winning the “best female singer” award in Melody Maker’s readers’ poll that year — the male singer award was won by Rod Stewart. Both Stewart and Denny appeared the next year on the London Symphony Orchestra’s all-star version of The Who’s Tommy, which had originally been intended as a vehicle for Stewart before Roger Daltrey got involved. Stewart’s role was reduced to a single song, “Pinball Wizard”, while Denny sang on “It’s a Boy”: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “It’s a Boy”] While Fotheringay had split up, all the band members play on The North Star Grassman and the Ravens. Guitarists Donahue and Lucas only play on a couple of the tracks, with Richard Thompson playing most of the guitar on the record. But Fotheringay’s rhythm section of Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway play on almost every track. Another musician on the album, Ian Whiteman, would possibly have a profound effect on the future direction of Richard Thompson’s career and life. Whiteman was the former keyboard player for the mod band The Action, having joined them just before they became the blues-rock band Mighty Baby. But Mighty Baby had split up when all of the band except the lead singer had converted to Islam. Richard Thompson was on his own spiritual journey at this point, and became a Sufi – the same branch of Islam as Whiteman – soon after the session, though Thompson has said that his conversion was independent of Whiteman’s. The two did become very close and work together a lot in the mid-seventies though. Thompson had supposedly left Fairport because he was writing material that wasn’t suited to the band, but he spent more than a year after quitting the group working on sessions rather than doing anything with his own material, and these sessions tended to involve the same core group of musicians. One of the more unusual was a folk-rock supergroup called The Bunch, put together by Trevor Lucas. Richard Branson had recently bought a recording studio, and wanted a band to test it out before opening it up for commercial customers, so with this free studio time Lucas decided to record a set of fifties rock and roll covers. He gathered together Thompson, Denny, Whiteman, Ashley Hutchings, Dave Mattacks, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, pianist Tony Cox, the horn section that would later form the core of the Average White Band, and Linda Peters, who had now split up with Joe Boyd and returned to the UK, and who had started dating Thompson. They recorded an album of covers of songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, the Everly Brothers, Johnny Otis and others: [Excerpt: The Bunch, “Willie and the Hand Jive”] The early seventies was a hugely productive time for this group of musicians, as they all continued playing on each other’s projects. One notable album was No Roses by Shirley Collins, which featured Thompson, Mattacks, Whiteman, Simon Nicol, Lal and Mike Waterson, and Ashley Hutchings, who was at that point married to Collins, as well as some more unusual musicians like the free jazz saxophonist Lol Coxhill: [Excerpt: Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band, “Claudy Banks”] Collins was at the time the most respected female singer in British traditional music, and already had a substantial career including a series of important records made with her sister Dolly, work with guitarists like Davey Graham, and time spent in the 1950s collecting folk songs in the Southern US with her then partner Alan Lomax – according to Collins she did much of the actual work, but Lomax only mentioned her in a single sentence in his book on this work. Some of the same group of musicians went on to work on an album of traditional Morris dancing tunes, titled Morris On, credited to “Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield”, with Collins singing lead on two tracks: [Excerpt: Ashley Hutchings, Richard Thompson, Dave Mattacks, John Kirkpatrick and Barry Dransfield with Shirley Collins, “The Willow Tree”] Thompson thought that that album was the best of the various side projects he was involved in at the time, comparing it favourably to Rock On, which he thought was rather slight, saying later “Conceptually, Fairport, Ashley and myself and Sandy were developing a more fragile style of music that nobody else was particularly interested in, a British Folk Rock idea that had a logical development to it, although we all presented it our own way. Morris On was rather more true to what we were doing. Rock On was rather a retro step. I'm not sure it was lasting enough as a record but Sandy did sing really well on the Buddy Holly songs.” Hutchings used the musicians on No Roses and Morris On as the basis for his band the Albion Band, which continues to this day. Simon Nicol and Dave Mattacks both quit Fairport to join the Albion Band, though Mattacks soon returned. Nicol would not return to Fairport for several years, though, and for a long period in the mid-seventies Fairport Convention had no original members. Unfortunately, while Collins was involved in the Albion Band early on, she and Hutchings ended up divorcing, and the stress from the divorce led to Collins developing spasmodic dysphonia, a stress-related illness which makes it impossible for the sufferer to sing. She did eventually regain her vocal ability, but between 1978 and 2016 she was unable to perform at all, and lost decades of her career. Richard Thompson occasionally performed with the Albion Band early on, but he was getting stretched a little thin with all these sessions. Linda Peters said later of him “When I came back from America, he was working in Sandy’s band, and doing sessions by the score. Always with Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks. Richard would turn up with his guitar, one day he went along to do a session with one of those folkie lady singers — and there were Pat and DM. They all cracked. Richard smashed his amp and said “Right! No more sessions!” In 1972 he got round to releasing his first solo album, Henry the Human Fly, which featured guest appearances by Linda Peters and Sandy Denny among others: [Excerpt: Richard Thompson, “The Angels Took My Racehorse Away”] Unfortunately, while that album has later become regarded as one of the classics of its genre, at the time it was absolutely slated by the music press. The review in Melody Maker, for example, read in part “Some of Richard Thompson’s ideas sound great – which is really the saving grace of this album, because most of the music doesn’t. The tragedy is that Thompson’s “British rock music” is such an unconvincing concoction… Even the songs that do integrate rock and traditional styles of electric guitar rhythms and accordion and fiddle decoration – and also include explicit, meaningful lyrics are marred by bottle-up vocals, uninspiring guitar phrases and a general lack of conviction in performance.” Henry the Human Fly was released in the US by Warners, who had a reciprocal licensing deal with Island (and for whom Joe Boyd was working at the time, which may have had something to do with that) but according to Thompson it became the lowest-selling record that Warners ever put out (though I’ve also seen that claim made about Van Dyke Parks’ Song Cycle, another album that has later been rediscovered). Thompson was hugely depressed by this reaction, and blamed his own singing. Happily, though, by this point he and Linda had become a couple — they would marry in 1972 — and they started playing folk clubs as a duo, or sometimes in a trio with Simon Nicol. Thompson was also playing with Sandy Denny’s backing band at this point, and played on every track on her second solo album, Sandy. This album was meant to be her big commercial breakthrough, with a glamorous cover photo by David Bailey, and with a more American sound, including steel guitar by Sneaky Pete Kleinow of the Flying Burrito Brothers (whose overdubs were supervised in LA by Joe Boyd): [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Tomorrow is a Long Time”] The album was given a big marketing push by Island, and “Listen, Listen” was made single of the week on the Radio 1 Breakfast show: [Excerpt: Sandy Denny, “Listen, Listen”] But it did even worse than the previous album, sending her into something of a depression. Linda Thompson (as the former Linda Peters now was) said of this period “After the Sandy album, it got her down that her popularity didn't suddenly increase in leaps and bounds, and that was the start of her really fretting about the way her career was going. Things only escalated after that. People like me or Martin Carthy or Norma Waterson would think, ‘What are you on about? This is folk music.'” After Sandy’s release, Denny realised she could no longer afford to tour with a band, and so went back to performing just acoustically or on piano. The only new music to be released by either of these ex-members of Fairport Convention in 1973 was, oddly, on an album by the band they were no longer members of. After Thompson had left Fairport, the group had managed to release two whole albums with the same lineup — Swarbrick, Nicol, Pegg, and Mattacks. But then Nicol and Mattacks had both quit the band to join the Albion Band with their former bandmate Ashley Hutchings, leading to a situation where the Albion Band had two original members of Fairport plus their longtime drummer while Fairport Convention itself had no original members and was down to just Swarbrick and Pegg. Needing to fulfil their contracts, they then recruited three former members of Fotheringay — Lucas on vocals and rhythm guitar, Donahue on lead guitar, and Conway on drums. Conway was only a session player at the time, and Mattacks soon returned to the band, but Lucas and Donahue became full-time members. This new lineup of Fairport Convention released two albums in 1973, widely regarded as the group’s most inconsistent records, and on the title track of the first, “Rosie”, Richard Thompson guested on guitar, with Sandy Denny and Linda Thompson on backing vocals: [Excerpt: Fairport Convention, “Rosie”] Neither Sandy Denny nor Richard Thompson released a record themselves in 1973, but in neither case was this through the artists’ choice. The record industry was changing in the early 1970s, as we’ll see in later episodes, and was less inclined to throw good money after bad in the pursuit of art. Island Records prided itself on being a home for great artists, but it was still a business, and needed to make money. We’ll talk about the OPEC oil crisis and its effect on the music industry much more when the podcast gets to 1973, but in brief, the production of oil by the US peaked in 1970 and started to decrease, leading to them importing more and more oil from the Middle East. As a result of this, oil prices rose slowly between 1971 and 1973, then very quickly towards the end of 1973 as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict that year. As vinyl is made of oil, suddenly producing records became much more expensive, and in this period a lot of labels decided not to release already-completed albums, until what they hoped would be a brief period of shortages passed. Both Denny and Thompson recorded albums at this point that got put to one side by Island. In the case of Thompson, it was the first album by Richard and Linda as a duo, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Today, I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time, and as one of the two masterpieces that bookended Richard and Linda’s career as a duo and their marriage. But when they recorded the album, full of Richard’s dark songs, it was the opposite of commercial. Even a song that’s more or less a boy-girl song, like “Has He Got a Friend for Me?” has lyrics like “He wouldn’t notice me passing by/I could be in the gutter, or dangling down from a tree” [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “Has He got a Friend For Me?”] While something like “The Calvary Cross” is oblique and haunted, and seems to cast a pall over the entire album: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “The Calvary Cross”] The album itself had been cheap to make — it had been recorded in only a week, with Thompson bringing in musicians he knew well and had worked with a lot previously to cut the tracks as-live in only a handful of takes — but Island didn’t think it was worth releasing. The record stayed on the shelf for nearly a year after recording, until Island got a new head of A&R, Richard Williams. Williams said of the album’s release “Muff Winwood had been doing A&R, but he was more interested in production… I had a conversation with Muff as soon as I got there, and he said there are a few hangovers, some outstanding problems. And one of them was Richard Thompson. He said there’s this album we gave him the money to make — which was I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight — and nobody’s very interested in it. Henry the Human Fly had been a bit of a commercial disappointment, and although Island was altruistic and independent and known for only recording good stuff, success was important… Either a record had to do well or somebody had to believe in it a lot. And it seemed as if neither of those things were true at that point of Richard.” Williams, though, was hugely impressed when he listened to the album. He compared Richard Thompson’s guitar playing to John Coltrane’s sax, and called Thompson “the folk poet of the rainy streets”, but also said “Linda brightened it, made it more commercial. and I thought that “Bright Lights” itself seemed a really commercial song.” The rest of the management at Island got caught up in Williams’ enthusiasm, and even decided to release the title track as a single: [Excerpt: Richard and Linda Thompson, “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight”] Neither single nor album charted — indeed it would not be until 1991 that Richard Thompson would make a record that made the top forty in the UK — but the album got enough critical respect that Richard and Linda released two albums the year after. The first of these, Hokey Pokey, is a much more upbeat record than their previous one — Richard Thompson has called it “quite a music-hall influenced record” and cited the influence of George Formby and Harry Lauder. For once, the claim of music hall influence is audible in the music. Usually when a British musician is claimed to have a music ha

christmas america god tv american family california death live church australia lord english uk men battle england action olympic games americans british song friend gratitude solo australian radio holidays mind dm guns north america current songs irish grammy band island track middle east wind wall hearts sweden daughter sea jump britain muslims beatles eagles lights plant breakfast islam records cd farewell boy rolling stones thompson scottish milk birmingham elvis stream denmark swedish drunk rock and roll unicorns flood north american loyalty deliverance morris ravens longtime sanders folk bob dylan victorian elton john marry generous abba dolly parton peters playboy john lennon faced rabbit ballad matthews blue sky pink floyd generally richard branson brotherhood boyd pond sailors led zeppelin johns santa monica dreamer bbc radio candle happily beach boys needing eps jimi hendrix scientology conway millennium transit fleetwood mac kami excerpt goin kinks full house quran scandinavia alice cooper sloths rendezvous stonehenge sweeney rails bow tidal covington rod stewart tilt opec paul simon rufus mccabe hark kate bush peter gabriel sex pistols donaldson mixcloud janis joplin guinness book hampshire white man hilo brian eno sufi partly garfunkel bright lights rowland zorn john coltrane clockwork orange jimmy page chopping zeppelin messina robert plant buddy holly jerry lee lewis donahue evermore private eyes jethro tull byrds lal linda ronstadt lief troubadour easy rider searchers emmylou harris prince albert first light islander honourable nick drake lomax scientologists broomsticks sumer larry page accordion richard williams rafferty baker street edwardian dusty springfield arab israeli steve winwood steve miller band bonham roger daltrey everly brothers john bonham london symphony orchestra judy collins john cale hutchings southern comfort richard thompson john paul jones mike love island records muff liege john wood brenda lee david bailey all nations ned kelly dimming geer pegg hokey pokey rock on robert fripp loggins fairport convention adir fats waller page one pinball wizard cilla black gerry conway roches tam lin warners average white band conceptually alan lomax barry humphries louie louie southern us royal festival hall wild mountain thyme melody maker albert hall linda thompson flying burrito brothers gerry rafferty peter grant swarbrick willow tree thompsons big pink carthy ian campbell rick nelson benjamin zephaniah roger mcguinn martha wainwright chris blackwell albert lee white dress van dyke parks human kindness glass eyes sandy denny ink spots rob young fairport ronstadt joe boyd joe meek tony cox vashti bunyan glyn johns damascene shirley collins incredible string band ewan maccoll bruce johnston dame edna everage george formby steeleye span martin carthy chrysalis records music from big pink human fly painstaking eliza carthy robin campbell johnny otis unthanks i write wahabi tim hart norma waterson maddy prior silver threads i wish i was ostin fool for you iron lion judy dyble john d loudermilk doing wrong simon nicol vincent black lightning dave pegg dave swarbrick henry mccullough smiffy only women bleed sir b paul mcneill davey graham windsor davies mick houghton tilt araiza
DRINNIES
Plötzlich VIP

DRINNIES

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 43:10


Was ist denn da los? Giulia ergötzt sich an einem elektrischen Kartonschneider und Chris läuft rückwärts durch den Spirit Tunnel von Jennifer Hudson. Außerdem: Frankfurt ist von ganz weit oben am schönsten und 101 Gründe, warum man nicht bei Scientology aufs Klo gehen sollte. Geht's noch?Empfehlung aus der Folge: Dylan Adler / James Tom / Asha WardHier gibt es Tickets zur Tour: drinnies.de18.10.2025 LEIPZIG, Gewandhaus20.10.2025 BERLIN, Philharmonie21.10.2025 KÖLN, Philharmonie04.11.2025 MÜNCHEN, Isarphilharmonie10.11.2025 FRANKFURT, Alte Oper11.11.2025 HAMBURG, LaeiszhalleBesuche Giulia und Chris auf Instagram: @giuliabeckerdasoriginal und @chris.sommerHier findest du alle Infos und Rabatte unserer Werbepartner: linktr.ee/drinnies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Get A Life - Ex-Cult Conversations
Get A Life Ep.139 The Truth about Rapid Relief Team (RRT)

Get A Life - Ex-Cult Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 142:47


What if a secretive cult used a disaster relief charity to dodge taxes and launder its image? This investigation exposes how the PBCC created the RRT to secure tax breaks, win government grants, and hide abuse—backed by leaks, records, and insider evidence, this is the story the RRT doesn't want you to hear.Chapter 1 00:00:47:04The RRT claimed to donate 16,000 food boxes after the La Soufrière eruption—but over 90% were paid for by the governments of Saint Vincent and Canada, exposing the PBCC's pattern of exaggeration and deception.Chapter 2 00:08:23:01To avoid losing tax-exempt status, the PBCC copied Scientology's playbook—rebranding, lobbying, and launching a flashy disaster relief charity to fake public benefit and keep government subsidies.Chapter 3 00:26:07:11When questioned by the UK Parliament in 2012, Garth Christie and Bruce Hazell failed to provide any genuine examples of public charity, instead offering a handful of staged events and misleading anecdotes stretching back to the 19th century.Chapter 4 00:45:22:13The Exclusive Brethren rejects charity not out of neglect, but by doctrine. Since J. N. Darby, its leaders have taught that the outside world is evil and unworthy of compassion—banning philanthropy as a matter of principle, not oversight.Chapter 5 00:59:27:22The PBCC directs nearly all its charitable donations back into its own internal network of trusts and businesses, leveraging just under 2% for public-facing projects to qualify for government tax rebates. Chapter 6 01:19:53:11From photobombing public health ceremonies to branding burger buns, the RRT prioritizes publicity over substance, sometimes taking full credit for donations made by governments or third parties..Chapter 7 01:38:13:12The RRT is the PBCC's “pretty girlfriend” in a bait-and-switch—partnering with trusted charities to hide the cult's abusive history. By hijacking goodwill, they rebrand charity events to whitewash decades of harm and control.Chapter 8 01:44:03:00The PBCC uses the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) to launder its cult reputation—hiding abuse and control behind staged charity. But as more groups learn the truth, they're cutting ties—showing that speaking out works.Chapter 9 02:02:36:17The RRT claimed a $1.9M donation after Cyclone Gabrielle—but records show most funding came from taxpayers and another charity. Much of it was spent at PBCC-owned businesses, turning disaster relief into profit.Chapter 10 02:17:56:01The Rapid Relief Team (RRT) looks charitable—but it's a front for the Plymouth Brethren cult's billion-dollar tax-free empire. Behind the red tents and PR stunts is a scheme draining public funds while offering just enough photo-op charity to stay exempt.Link for insiders- https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9xby4sx108r4z4uwd0chn/34897-139.mp4?rlkey=eux11qb1uwxvagwuix1r7cu5p&st=0h29fdn9&dl=0Link to articles-RNZ on PBCC National Assistance Fund tax breaks- https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/471553/ex-plymouth-brethren-christian-church-members-call-for-its-charitable-status-to-be-stripped?utm_source=chatgpt.comhttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6080541/Charity-promising-100-cent-donations-farmers-caught-spending-half-donations.htmlHow much money the ecosystem makes- https://archive.ph/mMYlvParliament – Hazell and Christie transcript. Audio in folder link below -https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmselect/cmpubadm/76/121106.htm Inforum article – PBCC finances https://www.inforum.com/news/the-vault/whistleblowers-allege-church-with-nd-ties-is-replacing-religion-with-richeshttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234284/So-Christian-charity-Plymouth-Brethren-lose-battle-tax-relief-theyre-doing-public-good.html Folder link to all other articles- https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wu28zm4caf0kcivpdl94w/Truth-About-RRT-podcast-article-links.pdf?rlkey=8dpq8ybhyldz8j4ynubbvmme8&st=95186daf&dl=0Admin/Legal email address:stouffvillelegal-gal@protonmail.com

Too Much Information
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones: Everything You Didn't Know

Too Much Information

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 152:38 Transcription Available


Your two men on the internet telling you useless information supposed to fire your imagination are back with their 60th anniversary deep-dive into this deathless rock anthem. After a heated Beatles vs Stones debate, the TMI guys explain how the classic riff came to Keith Richards in a dream — and run down a list of other great art that came to people while they slept. They’ll explain the song’s unexpected connection to unexplained Scientology deaths, and the role it played in inadvertently breaking up the Beatles. You’ll also learn how the success of “Satisfaction” lead to a schism within the Stones themselves, which ultimately lead to the death of their founder and long-time leader, Brian Jones. Heigl delivers a stunning history of guitar distortion while Jordan explains how the Beatles delighted in trolling their friendly rivals. It’s a story of ego, electricity, obsession, and the song that turned the Rolling Stones into the most dangerous band in the world. For those interested in learning more about The Rolling Stones, here’s the podcast Jordan worked on about the sessions for ‘Exile on Main Street’ and their groundbreaking American tour in the summer of 1972: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stones-touring-party/id1698938627 Support your friendly neighborhood TMI Guys here! https://ko-fi.com/toomuchinformationpodcastSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Text Me Back! With Lindy West And Meagan Hatcher-Mays
Lindy and Meagan are Coiled to Strike the Baby

Text Me Back! With Lindy West And Meagan Hatcher-Mays

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2025 56:28


First up, Amy Klobuchar…did our BBW invite get lost in the mail? Did we bump our heads and forget that we were honored attendees?? Ames??????But headlining this episode is a BRAND NEW *I CAN FIX HER* JINGLE!! Thank you listener Krista!!! We simply had to share it and therefore are reporting on that which is fixing us. Namely wax strips and a certain piece of non-religious literature sent by an anonymous Tom ;)Next, our values are up for grabs–is the short stubby screw worm a snake? Call in with your thoughts (703) 829-0003 or vote in the Spotify poll! Plus, a conspiracy/mystery we want your thoughts on. “New Drivers” are grifting our asses??? We don't believe you! You can't ALL be new here, we won't stand for it! You're gonna start getting cut off from those stickers AND cut off in traffic, sweeties. Prepare yourselves

TheOccultRejects
Scientology and Battlefield Earth with Rare Candy

TheOccultRejects

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 133:02


If you enjoy this episode, we're sure you will enjoy more content like this on The Occult Rejects.  In fact, we have curated playlists on occult topics like grimoires, esoteric concepts and phenomena, occult history, analyzing true crime and cults with an occult lens, Para politics, and occultism in music. Whether you enjoy consuming your content visually or via audio, we've got you covered - and it will always be provided free of charge.  So, if you enjoy what we do and want to support our work of providing accessible, free content on various platforms, please consider making a donation to the links provided below.  Thank you and enjoy the episode!Links For The Occult Rejects and The Spiritual Gangsters https://linktr.ee/theoccultrejectsOccult Research Institutehttps://www.occultresearchinstitute.org/Cash Apphttps://cash.app/$theoccultrejectsVenmo@TheOccultRejectsBuy Me A Coffeebuymeacoffee.com/TheOccultRejectsPatreonhttps://www.patreon.com/TheOccultRejectsJJ Vancehttps://linktr.ee/operationgcd?utm_source=linktree_profile_shareJinhttps://linktr.ee/thresholdsaintsHeidihttps://linktr.ee/unfilteredrisepod

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
Scientology's Alien Beliefs: Xenu, Galactic Federation, & the Secrets of the Sea Org with a Humorous Twist Scientology Q&A #43

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2025 78:57 Transcription Available


Send us a textThis episode originally aired on YouTube on December 15th 2024.Ever wondered why Earth might just be the universe's ultimate "prison planet"? Join me and my wife for an entertaining exploration as we unravel the fantastical alien narratives buried within Scientology's secretive doctrines. We tackle everything from the notorious Xenu and his Galactic Federation antics to the quirky rules against "coffee shop auditing." Our lively Q&A session spills the juicy details you've been curious about, all while fielding your burning questions about the religion's alien connections.Brace yourself for some eyebrow-raising anecdotes and humorous insights as we dissect Hubbard's sci-fi influence on Scientology. From spaceships resembling DC-10s to the curious concept of "body thetans" supposedly haunting our bodies, we leave no stone unturned. And yes, we even speculate on how Tom Cruise's deep dive into Scientology might have influenced his film career—who knew exorcising space aliens could be part of a leading man's repertoire?Finally, we pull back the curtain on the organization's mysterious Sea Org and explore the whimsical lore of the Loyal Officers, all while sharing our own experiences, like that unforgettable trip to a New Mexico vault. Whether it's the eccentricities of Hubbard's final days or the oddities within the church's practices, we deliver a ride through Scientology's hidden secrets that's as enlightening as it is entertaining. Don't miss this one-of-a-kind episode that dares to question the logic behind one of the world's most controversial belief systems!Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

RedHanded
FROM THE VAULT - Scientology: Parts 1&2

RedHanded

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 196:25


With Scientology's biggest poster boy back on the big screen, the church is ramping up the recruitment drive. And to make sure you STAY AWAY from this sinister, star-studded sci-fi cult posing as a world religion, we're rereleasing our two-parter as a bumper bonus episode...-- Hannah and Suruthi peer under the slippery stone of Scientology's sinister origins. They track the life of founder L. Ron Hubbard, from the birth of Dianetics, to the constantly shifting goalposts of engrams, and of course the conception of the Sea Org.Then, they unravel the mysteries of Scientology (and get themselves fair-gamed) by discussing Scientology's most important questions like: "what is the current structure of The Church of Scientology?", "where does Tom Cruise fit in?" and most importantly "where on Xenu's green earth is dead-eyed Dave's wife Shelly Miscavige?"--Exclusive bonus content:Wondery - Ad-free & ShortHandPatreon - Ad-free & Bonus EpisodesFollow us on social media:YouTubeTikTokInstagramVisit our website:WebsiteSources available on redhandedpodcast.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Opperman Report
Tony Ortega : Church of Scientology

The Opperman Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2025 119:57


Tony Ortega : Church of ScientologyTony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in Scientology and other controversial subjects from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.)Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

The Opperman Report
Mark Ebner : Bill Cosby Rape Allegations

The Opperman Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2025 126:17


New York Times best selling author Mark Ebner is an award winning investigative journalist who has covered all aspects of celebrity and crime culture for Spy, Rolling Stone, Maxim, Details, Los Angeles, Premiere, Salon, Spin, Radar, Angeleno, The Daily Beast.com, Gawker.com, BoingBoing.net and New Times among other national and international and internet publications. He has repeatedly positioned himself in harm's way, conducting dozens of investigations into such subjects as Scientology, Pit Bull fighting in South Central Los Angeles, the Ku Klux Klan in Texas, celebrity stalkers, drug dealers, missing porn stars, sports groupies, mobsters, college suicides and Hepatitis C in Hollywood.Ebner has produced for and/or appeared as a journalist-commentator on NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, A&E, The BBC, Channel 4 (UK), National Public Radio, Court TV, Fox News, FX, VH-1 and E! Entertainment Television. He has been a featured guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Today Show, The Early Show, Inside Edition, The Dylan Ratigan Show, Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn, Fox & Friends, Catherine Crier Live, and a host of other television and radio programs in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom and Asia.Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon -- The Case Against Celebrityhttps://amzn.to/3ZuZgYrBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

The Film Stage Show
Emulsion Ep. 7 - Is Tom Cruise Evil?

The Film Stage Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 37:35


The release of a new Tom Cruise film is less about the film than it is about Tom Cruise. Ceaseless junket and red-carpet interviews with supposed journalists who were perhaps invented on the spot to ask him questions, clips of these interviews that quickly go viral, endless rankings of the movies, and between all of it the… acknowledgement, perhaps, that Cruise is connected to (or currently participates in) the horrific doings of Scientology. It doesn't take much to discern that our collective fascination is fueled by the wonder at who exactly this man is, and if that man is, for lack of a better word, evil. Thus I asked a cadre of luminaries in the film world to answer two questions. First: Is Tom Cruise evil? Second: In what film does Tom Cruise most play himself?  Listen for answers from our own B-Side and Jordan Raup, Extended Clip, Jokermen, Hesse Deni, Shawn Glinis, Fran Hoepfner, Tommy Prieto, Will Sloan, and Ethan Vestby.

Fringe Radio Network
Entertainment Breakdown: Mission Impossible - Fire Theft Radio

Fringe Radio Network

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2025 69:22


If you want to know the plans of the secret elite, watch spy movies. Let's breakdown the Hollywood magick found in the franchise of Mission impossible.  In them you'll find predictive progaming, scientology, numerology, magick, fear mongering and so much more. Don't be afraid, for the will of God will always triumph. As always, don't forget to sread the fire! 

Colorado Real Estate Podcast
Tiny Towns Rise in the United States & Denver's Fastest-Growing Cities Ranked

Colorado Real Estate Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 14:14


What U.S. Cities Are Growing Fastest—and Why Tiny Towns May Be the Smartest Investment in 2025 In this episode of the Real Estate Education Podcast, we explore the fastest and slowest growing cities in the Denver metro area—and zoom out to a national trend reshaping American real estate: the rise of tiny towns. These are U.S. markets with fewer than 25,000 housing units, and they've seen surprising population growth since the pandemic. But are these “Zoomtowns” still gaining momentum—or is the trend reversing?  Segment 1 – The Rise (and Plateau?) of Tiny Towns: We dive into why small markets boomed after 2020, what makes them attractive for real estate investors, and why 2025 might be the turning point as urban population rebounds. We highlight recent data from Briefcase Real Estate, touching on occupancy rates, remote work impacts, and national investment strategies for smaller U.S. metros.  Segment 2 – Fastest and Slowest Growing Cities in the Denver Metro: From Arvada's red-hot housing market (5 days on market!) to Castle Rock's suburban sprawl slowdown, we analyze which Colorado cities are thriving and which are stagnating—and why. Learn how zoning, transit, housing diversity, and urban planning all play a role.  Bonus: We also kick things off with a quick take on Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning and the movie's unexpected AI villain twist—plus some hot takes on Tom Cruise, Marvel movies, and yes, Scientology. Perfect for: Investors hunting for undervalued real estate markets in the U.S. Buyers and sellers trying to time their entry into fast-moving cities Real estate agents tracking market demand and homebuyer trends Anyone curious about how remote work, zoning, and urban planning impact home values  Search terms optimized in this episode: real estate podcast USA 2025, fastest growing cities 2025, Denver housing trends 2025, small town real estate investment, tiny town population growth, best markets for real estate investing 2025, Castle Rock housing slowdown, Arvada real estate, Mission Impossible AI villain, Tom Cruise stunts 2025  Subscribe for smart, unscripted real estate insights from two full-time pros.  Contact Information: erin@erinspradlin.com or James@jamescarlsonre.com  Briefcase Link: https://www.briefcase.email/subscribe?ref=wFlln8t7WI

2 Cents Critic
#211 – The Matrix | Directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski (with Anna)

2 Cents Critic

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 238:53


Tune in as Pride Month rolls onward for its second week on 2CC! Anna (@banananna024/@formergleek) is jumping back on the show for a deep dive into The Matrix, the 1999 sci-fi action movie about a computer hacker who's bestowed with a quest to free humankind from the simulated reality in which they've all been imprisoned. The utterly trans layers of this iconic film, Tom Cruise and his representation of the predatory cult Scientology, multiple instances of Anna quoting the John Wick franchise, and the comparison that Arthur draws between Switch from The Matrix and Val from gen:LOCK pop out as just a few of the talking points in this episode.Written and directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, The Matrix stars Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, Gloria Foster, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong, Julian Arahanga, Matt Doran, Belinda McClory, Anthony Ray Parker, Paul Goddard, Robert Taylor, Marc Aden Gray, Ada Nicodemou, and Rowan Witt.Spoilers start at 59:30The Matrix Is Intrinsically TransThe Marcus Chong Story#MatrixGate what really happened to Tank the Operator in the original MatrixCreate your podcast today! #madeonzencastrHere's how you can learn more about Palestine and IsraelHere's how you can keep up-to-date on this genocideHere's how you can send eSIM cards to Palestinians in order to help them stay connected onlineGood Word:• Anna: Andor• Arthur: Someone Knows by Vi KeelandReach out at email2centscritic@yahoo.com if you want to recommend things to watch and read, share anecdotes, or just say hello!Be sure to subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or any of your preferred podcasting platforms!Follow Arthur on Twitter, Goodpods, StoryGraph, Letterboxd, and TikTok: @arthur_ant18Follow Arthur on Bluesky: @arthur-ant18Follow the podcast on Twitter: @two_centscriticFollow the podcast on Instagram: @twocentscriticpodFollow Arthur on GoodreadsCheck out 2 Cents Critic Linktree

Sex Talk With My Mom
503 Cult Leader Converts My Mom (feat. Nicholas Hemerling)

Sex Talk With My Mom

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 41:43


In this episode of Sex Talk with My Mom, we welcome the enigmatic and slightly unhinged Sky Petal, a self-proclaimed spiritual guru who claims to have found enlightenment in a dog park. Yes, you heard that right! With a beard that could house a family of squirrels and a philosophy that blends all religions into one big happy cult, Sky takes us on a wild ride through his quirky beliefs and questionable life choices. Dive into Sky's unforgettable experiences in the "desert" (which may or may not be a dog park). His bizarre insights and charmingly chaotic energy make this episode a hilarious blend of laughter and head-scratching moments. If you want to follow Sky (a.k.a. Nicholas Hemerling) on his journey of questionable enlightenment, check him out on Instagram at @nhemerling Get close with us! Follow Sex Talk With My Mom (@sextalkwithmymom), Cam Poter (@camoncam69), and KarenLee Poter (@karenleepoter) on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok! #SexTalkWithMyMom #SkyPetal #CultComedy #DesertDiaries #BeardGoals #CamPoter #KarenLeePoter #FunnyPodcast Chapters  0:44 - Weird encounter: Scientology, street recruiting & mystery man intro. 03:19 - Sky's all-in-one religion: why pick just one? 06:15 - Divine awakening hits — cue blue lightning. 16:06 - Small “cult” forms 23:05 - Quick quiz: Guess The Religion (spoiler: Sky's stumped). 30:05 - Magic rock ritual magic! Please support our show and get discounts on our favorite brands by using our sponsors' links at sneakypod.com! FLESHLIGHT – Our sponsor, FLESHLIGHT, can help you reach new heights with your self-pleasure. FLESHLIGHT is the #1 selling male sex toy in the world. Looking for your next pocket pal? Save 10% on your next fleshlight with Promo Code: SNEAKY at fleshlight.com. ❣️You can view many of our full episodes in video form by going to our YouTube channel. Join our sparkling new Sneaky Freak chatroom on Discord! Just visit: https://discord.gg/jJZqkUw3dV. To gain exclusive access to all our Discord channels, join us at Patreon.com/sextalkwithmymom. If you've enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review at RateThisPodcast.com/Mom. Also, it would mean the world if you'd support us through Patreon.com/sextalkwithmymom – a platform where you can get exclusive STWMM bonus episodes and Zoom chats with us! Grab some Sex Talk w/ My Mom swag at sextalkwithmymom.com. Get close with us on socials at: Text us - 310-356-3920 Facebook/Instagram - @SexTalkWithMyMom Twitter - @SexTalkWMyMom Website - www.SexTalkWithMyMom.com Our podcast's music was crafted by the wildly talented Freddy Avis! Check out his work at http://www.freddyavismusic.com/ Sex Talk With My Mom is a proud member of Pleasure Podcasts, a podcast collective revolutionizing the conversation around sex. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
Beyond Space Cooties: Tom Cruise's Alien Problem - Scientology Q&A #42

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2025 84:53 Transcription Available


Send us a textWe catch up with our community after a busy summer filled with family adventures, travel, and major progress with the Aftermath Foundation. Our oldest son graduated high school in May, our middle son is now a junior, and our youngest just started middle school – milestones that feel particularly meaningful given our own disrupted educations in Scientology.• Sharing photos from our summer travel including Portland, Las Vegas, and Denver• Updates on the Aftermath Foundation's approval for a second year in the Combined Federal Campaign• Development of a dedicated law enforcement crisis line for potential Scientology victims• Claire's upcoming series "Life After Scientology" focusing on recovery resources and experiences• Plans for a second series about kids in cults and the lasting impact of childhood indoctrination• Discussion about Tom Cruise's involvement with Scientology and its bizarre alien beliefs• Insights on Delphi schools as Scientology's educational indoctrination system• Information about Serge Obolensky's progress and achievements since leaving ScientologyThe SP Shop still has Davy dolls available while supplies last – all proceeds benefit the Aftermath Foundation. Visit aftermathfoundation.org to sign up for our upcoming newsletter and blownforgood.com to send us your photos of orgs or merchandise.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

Operation Evil
Episode 128: Today Is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Operation Evil

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2025 77:03


Send us a text Episode 128: Today Is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life https://youtu.be/pv50YW4n6og "Fringe Psychology of the 1960s In Breakthrough/Momentus Training". Matt Novak (29 September 2014). "The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won"Her life with "One Big Brother", San Jose Mercury News, March 19, 1999, Michael D. ClarkMorgan, Fiona (30 March 1999). "One big dysfunctional family". Salon. "Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult". Kobler, John (February 8, 1969). "The second coming of Synanon".Janzen, Rod A. The Rise and Fall of Synanon: A California Utopia.Pollock, Dale (1999). Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas. Reid, Max (October 1974). "The Making of California Split: An Interview with Robert Altman"https://www.sundance.org/blogs/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-synanon-fix-like-frogs-boiling-slowly-in-water/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/this-1970s-cult-inspired-abusive-teen-rehabilitation-methods-still-used-today"Nation: Life at Synanon Is Swinging". TIME Magazine. December 26, 1977D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 6, 2023). "Sundance Unveils Packed 2024 Lineup That Includes A.I., Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart, Satan, Devo & Steven Yeun". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 21, 2024. ^ "HBO Original Documentary Series THE SYNANON FIX Debuts April 1". Warner Bro "A Violent, Deadly Cult With Forced Abortions and Shades of Scientology". Roberts, Sam (November 1, 2023). "David Mitchell, Weekly Editor Who Exposed a Corrupt Cult, Dies at 79""The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won" https://youtu.be/SFtEkD0pGy8Patreon Supporter: Support the show

Overshadowed Podcast
Tom Cruise's Sisters (LeeAnn, Cass, and Marian)

Overshadowed Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2025 63:18


We talk Tom Cruise's sisters in this week's episode with Erik Scott, featuring couch jumps, recruiting prisoners into Scientology, and the merits of L Ron's teachings (of which there are many). Follow @erikscottcomedy. Want to suggest a sibling/spouse for a future episode? overshadowedpod@gmail.com  Recorded June 2025 And follow us on social media! https://linktr.ee/overshadowed_podcast Instagram: @Overshadowed_Podcast @zachrussellcomedy @charles_engle  Produced by Zach Russell Intro/Outro music by Mokka! Music from #InAudio: https://inaudio.org/ Track Name: Funky Retro Funk [Funk Music] by MokkaMusic / Old Tapes Chapter

Taste of Taylor
Strip Club Next to Scientology Center with Chris Burns

Taste of Taylor

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 35:29


Topics: Next Gen NYC unpopular opinion, listener Nuts or Not about friends copying your style, Mr. Beast is borrowing money from his mom for his wedding, Rhode cosmetics sold to e.l.f. for $1b, RHONY's Brynn says she was supposed to be on Love Hotel, RHONJ is officially re-casting, The Valley, Love Letters from TinaSponsors:Draftkings: Download the app and sign up with code TOTQuince: Go to Quince.com/taylor for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty-five-day returnsProduced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Ryan Gorman Show
New Florida Law Adds Teenage Driver Requirements, Meteorologist Sounds Alarm About NWS Cuts

The Ryan Gorman Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 26:11


TOP STORIES - New Florida law adds requirement before teens can get behind the wheel; Florida meteorologist warns viewers NWS staff shortages will impact his hurricane forecasts; Panthers vs. Oilers Game 1 Recap; Under fire from the state, Hillsborough's Ayres pledges to pull more books; Attorney General James Uthmeier siding with Scientology in land dispute, warns City of Clearwater of 'unconstitutional' decision-making; Hillsborough County requests feedback on $700 million in hurricane recovery aid; Hillsborough County Sheriff Backs New Law Targeting Young Drug Dealers; Florida woman sprays bear mace at neighbor's children playing with bubbles.

Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast
Mission Impossible VII & VIII: or, How We Learnt to Start Reckoning with the Super Seriousness of Mr. Scientology #153

Queen is Dead - A Film, TV and Culture Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2025 159:40


Hello, Hello, Hello,This is -- arguably -- the only sane discussion we have had on the "MI" franchise, courtesy -- the presence of Adithiyan and the special appearance of Mr. (Raj) Aryan -- but most of all the absence of "MI: I, 2 & III" moderator, Varun Bhakay.Dhruv, Cris & a surprisingly sober, sensible (and somewhat salty) Hemant are also there -- dueling it out about why, for some of them, "Dead Reckoning" works much more than "Final Reckoning" and why -- according to Hemant -- we all are wrong about "Rogue Nation."Spoilers, of course, for all the MIs. And a lot of shade (and some praise) thrown at "MI5" and "MI8."TIMECODESIntroduction - [00:00 – 05:05]MI1 to MI6 Recap - [05:05 – 34:58]Counter-Programming (MI's Legacy) - [34:58 – 51:57]"MI7: Dead Reckoning" - [51:57 – 01:38:23]"MI8: The Final Reckoning" - [01:38:23 – 02:31:51]Outro - [02:31:51 - 02:37:03]Congratulations to Jafar Panahi! - [02:37:03 - 02:39:40]Do hit 'Follow' on Spotify if you haven't already to help the podcast reach more people!Follow our Instagram page:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/queenisdead.filmpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠READINGS ON THE "MI" FRANCHISE (suggested by Adithiyan)1. "On Mission Impossible and Unaccountable Government" - https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/on-mission-impossible-and-unaccountable-government/.2. "The Delightfully Nonsensical Politics of the MI Series" - https://oscarkimbauman.substack.com/p/the-delightfully-nonsensical-politics?utm_medium=web.Follow him on IG to explore his "MI" Retrospective: https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/.Follow us on Instagram at:Adithiyan: https://www.instagram.com/curioseradithiyan/Aryan: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/aryantalksfilm/⁠Hemant: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/hemantganti/⁠Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/terminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/prdscris/⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow us on Letterboxd at:Adithiyan: https://letterboxd.com/curioseradi/Aryan: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aryantalksfilms/⁠Hemant: ⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/ganti117/⁠Dhruv: ⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/aterminalcinema/⁠⁠⁠Cris: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://letterboxd.com/crislim/⁠⁠

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
From Sea Org to Freedom: Marc and Claire's Journey Beyond the Cult - Scientology Q&A #41

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 61:08 Transcription Available


Send us a textMarc and Claire Headley host an impromptu Q&A session addressing audience questions about their experiences in Scientology's Sea Organization and life after leaving the cult.• Marc shares the infamous "Theta Potato" story about Scientologists using "postulates" to disable a parking enforcement officer's vehicle• Claire reveals she was removed from her position and put in "the hole" for refusing to divorce Marc at David Miscavige's insistence• Discussion of Miscavige's abusive leadership style and creation of "Pie Face" badges to humiliate staff members• Explanation of how Scientology financially exploits members by charging full retail prices for items that cost pennies to produce• Details about the Freewinds ship being a financial burden that has never been profitable• Information about how police corruption investigations regarding Scientology are underway• Personal reflections on adjusting to normal life after escaping Scientology, with freedom of time and food choices being most surprising• Clarification of how L. Ron Hubbard Way in Los Angeles was renamed through financial influenceSupport the Aftermath Foundation at theaftermathfoundation.org and find merchandise at spshop.com that supports former Scientologists escaping the cult.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

Camp Gagnon
The Macabre Aleister Crowley: The Great Beast 666 and Father of the Occult

Camp Gagnon

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 59:48


THE GREAT BEAST! Today, we look at the occult leader, Aleister Crowley, who is also know as the 666 Great Beast. We cover topics like forming The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn, that the Book of Law meant, Aleister's contact with Egyptian God Horus, s*x magic, if Aleister Crowley was a spy and other interesting topics…WELCOME TO CAMP

HERO paranormal
Hal Puthoff blacklisted?

HERO paranormal

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2025 53:58


Was Hal Puthoff blacklisted by Tom Cruise in the realm of Scientology?

TRENDIFIER with Julian Dorey
#306 - Hunting P*dos, America's Most Corrupt Mayor & Scammer Underworld | Tommy G & Punchmade Dev

TRENDIFIER with Julian Dorey

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 161:59


PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/JulianDorey (***TIMESTAMPS in Description Below) ~ Tommy G is a Documentarian, Journalist, Entertainer & YouTuber. His Channel (“Tommy G”) has amassed over 2 Million Subscribers to date. Punchmade Dev is an American rapper and songwriter based in Lexington, Kentucky. TOMMY & PUNCHMADE DEV'S LINKS: Tommy G YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/@TommyGMcGee Punchmade Dev YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdcmnkk8bZx40DKpQ-ZeCOw FOLLOW JULIAN DOREY INSTAGRAM (Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/juliandoreypodcast/ INSTAGRAM (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/julianddorey/ X: https://twitter.com/julianddorey JULIAN YT CHANNELS - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Clips YT: https://www.youtube.com/@juliandoreyclips - SUBSCRIBE to Julian Dorey Daily YT: https://www.youtube.com/@JulianDoreyDaily - SUBSCRIBE to Best of JDP: https://www.youtube.com/@bestofJDP ****TIMESTAMPS**** 00:00 - Jesus, Tommy G, NY Conspiracies 09:11 - Cops Chase, Dev Scammer, Cash App 16:03 - Theft, Concealed Carry, Almost Arrested 24:32 - Base Jumping Case, Robbery 31:03 - 2K Scams, Catfishing 38:29 - Chris Hansen & Hunting P*dos 55:40 - Dev tells his shooting story 01:04:47 - Rapping, Ouija Board, Faith 01:15:11 - Culture, Family, Moving 01:33:30 - Hood Videos, Tommy G 01:38:23 - Corrupt Mayor, Killers 01:50:31 - Matt Cox, Narcissism, Criminal Mind 01:59:11 - Suffering, Young Dolph 02:05:51 - Mexican Gangs, Drug Culture, Dev's Goals 02:10:30 - Family Reaction, Buckingham 02:15:04 - Investigative, Scientology, Truman Show 02:27:57 - Dev's 10-Year Plan CREDITS: - Host, Editor & Producer: Julian Dorey - In-Studio Producer: Alessi Allaman - https://www.youtube.com/@UCyLKzv5fKxGmVQg3cMJJzyQ Julian Dorey Podcast Episode 306 - Tommy G & Punch Made Dev Music by Artlist.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unter Uns Moms
Gott, Glaube und große Kirchen: Religion in den USA

Unter Uns Moms

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2025 44:27


Janina und Patricia werfen einen Blick auf die vielfältige Religionslandschaft in den USA – von Megakirchen mit Rockkonzert-Flair über Amish-Gemeinden ohne Strom bis hin zu Scientology und den Mormonen. Sie sprechen auch darüber, wie sichtbar Religion im amerikanischen Alltag ist, wie leicht man dort eine Kirche gründen kann – und welche Glaubensrichtungen in Europa kaum vorstellbar wären.

Issues, Etc.
Christianity and Other World Religions: Atheism and Scientology – Dr. Adam Francisco, 5/28/25 (1482, Encore)

Issues, Etc.

Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025


Dr. Adam Francisco, author, “One God, Many Gods” One God, Many Gods The post Christianity and Other World Religions: Atheism and Scientology – Dr. Adam Francisco, 5/28/25 (1482, Encore) first appeared on Issues, Etc..

Even the Rich
Tom Cruise: Risky Business | 279

Even the Rich

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 51:13


Richies, just in time for ""Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning"" - the last installment of the MI franchise - we bring you one of the most bankable stars in the world, Tom Cruise. As a boy, he's bullied because of his height, and faces learning difficulties at school. But that was then and this is now. Thanks to roles in “Risky Business,” “Top Gun,” “A Few Good Men,” and the money-printing “Mission: Impossible” franchise, Tom has become not only an enormous action star, but one of Hollywood's most surefire leading men. And one of its most controversial. Who could forget the image of him jumping up and down on Oprah's couch after falling for Katie Holmes? Or when the “War of the Worlds” star and public face of Scientology stirs the pot on “Today,"" criticizing Brooke Shields for using medication to treat postpartum depression. (A major no-no according to Tom's church.) There's no questioning Tom's mega-star status - or his extremely polarizing views.You can follow Brooke and Aricia on socials at @brookesiffrinn and @ariciaskidmorewilliamss. And check out the brand new Even the Rich merch store at www.eventherich.com.Be the first to know about Wondery's newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletterListen to Even The Rich on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App or on Apple Podcasts. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/even-the-rich/ now.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
From Enforcer to Defector: Marty Rathbun's Complex Journey Through Scientology - Scientology Q&A #40

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2025 123:46 Transcription Available


Send us a textFour former high-ranking Scientology members reveal the complex, troubling story of Marty Rathbun – once David Miscavige's right-hand man who later became one of Scientology's most significant defectors before mysteriously returning to defend the organization.• Marty Rathbun served as Inspector General of RTC and David Miscavige's primary enforcer despite escaping the Sea Org multiple times• Marc Headley recounts being physically assaulted by Rathbun during an interrogation when he refused to confess to something he hadn't done• After his final escape in 2004, Rathbun began speaking out against the church and created a blog that became a rallying point for the "Independent Scientology" movement• The Rathbuns faced extreme harassment from Scientology's "Squirrel Busters" who monitored their home 24/7 with cameras and followed their every move• Marty's wife Monique filed a promising harassment lawsuit against Scientology but inexplicably dismissed it, after which Marty began posting videos attacking former friends• Despite his betrayal, the hosts express compassion for Rathbun, acknowledging his early contributions to exposing Scientology and the complex trauma that likely influenced his actionsIf you or someone you know needs help leaving Scientology, contact The Aftermath Foundation at aftermathfoundation.org. You do not need to share your story publicly to receive assistance.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

Prime Time with Alex Stein
Ep 318 | QAnon Shaman Gets ROASTED by Dallas Comedian!

Prime Time with Alex Stein

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2025 64:12


Jacob Chansley, aka the QAnon Shaman, is back to storming buildings, but this time it's the blimp for “Prime Time with Alex Stein”! To start the show, we play Alex visiting a city council in Clearwater, Florida, with some groundbreaking information about Scientology and Shelly Miscavige. Following, the QAnon Shaman joins in studio to discuss Donald Trump issuing him a pardon and explain what he's currently up to. Following, we have local roast comedian Nathan Beeman give the QAnon Shaman a good old-fashioned ribbing! Finally, we surprise the shaman with some voicemails of potential female suitors in the area who want to go on a date with him. Don't miss this episode of “Prime Time with Alex Stein”!Today's Sponsors:Home Title LockGo to https://hometitlelock.com/alexstein and use promo code ALEX to get a FREE title history report so you can find out if you're already a victim AND 14 days of protection for FREE! And make sure to check out the Million Dollar TripleLock protection details when you get there! Exclusions apply. For details visit https://hometitlelock.com/warranty.'The Last Rodeo'"The Last Rodeo," from the creators of "The King of Kings" and "Sound of Freedom," is an emotional, action-packed story of a retired rodeo legend making one final ride to save his grandson. Filled with raw emotion and themes of healing and courage, this movie will tug at your heartstrings. Get your tickets today at Angel.com/ALEX before they sell out — "The Last Rodeo" hits theaters starting May 23.WINNINGConservatives are gaining ground, and BlazeTV is at the forefront of the movement, providing a platform for bold voices and fearless commentary. With investigative journalism and original documentaries, BlazeTV offers content the mainstream media won't show you. Subscribe now at https://BlazeTV.com/ALEX using code PRIME TIME 99 to get your first 30 days for just 99 cents and join the fight for free speech and independent thought! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mamamia Out Loud
What We've All Forgotten About Tom Cruise

Mamamia Out Loud

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 40:51 Transcription Available


Joe Biden’s latest health scare has sparked a reckoning—and it’s raising big questions about what happens when compassion clashes with a potential cover-up. Also, have we all forgotten something about Tom Cruise... AKA the Last Real Movie Star? We're here to remind you. And in today’s group chat — the woman with heels in her tote, the couple not speaking at dinner, the Strava-obsessed show-off... Be honest. Which woman did you swear you’d never become? Put your best listening ears on because Mia, Jessie and Holly unpack all this—and a whole lot more—on today's show.

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
Space Cooties and Empty Promises - Scientology Secrets #6

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2025 88:58 Transcription Available


Send us a textMarc and Claire Headley expose the systematic financial scams Scientology perpetrates against its own members, revealing internal secrets from their combined 28 years at Scientology's International Headquarters.• The "Bridge to Total Freedom" prominently displays OT levels 9-15, but these levels don't actually exist• L. Ron Hubbard died after only completing materials up to OT8, yet Scientology continues selling the promise of these non-existent levels• Scientology constantly moves the goalposts for releasing these levels (first all orgs reaching "St. Hill size," then becoming "Ideal Orgs")• The L. Ron Hubbard Hall in Clearwater has been fundraised for over 20 years but never built, while donations generate investment returns• Multiple Scientologists were told they exclusively funded the same architectural elements, like crosses on buildings• The "Outer Org Trainee" program forces smaller Scientology organizations to send staff to Florida for "training" at exorbitant costs• These staff members become cheap labor for Florida facilities and get poached for the Sea Organization• The World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE) prevents Scientologists from using the legal system for business disputes• Reed Slatkin, a Scientology minister, ran a massive Ponzi scheme, primarily defrauding fellow Scientologists• Scientology has perfected binding contracts that prevent members from seeking legal recourse for any harm experiencedIf you've experienced financial fraud by Scientology, such as unauthorized credit card charges, contact the Aftermath Foundation through their website. Many victims have successfully recovered their money with proper assistance.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

The Gareth Cliff Show
Craft, Cruise & Cumberbatc

The Gareth Cliff Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 54:50


19.05.25 Pt 2 - Gareth Cliff sits down with actor and activist Jack Devnarain for a candid chat about the craft of acting. From classical training alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch to the enigma of Tom Cruise and Scientology, no name is off-limits. Jack also opens up about his personal approach to performance—what drives him, grounds him, and keeps him sharp in a tough industry The Real Network

Cult of Conspiracy
#815- Operation Snow White & The Scientology Cult!

Cult of Conspiracy

Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2025 140:22


To sign up for our Patreon go to-> Patreon.com/cultofconspiracypodcast To Join the Cajun Knight Patreon---> Patreon.com/cajunknight To Find The Cajun Knight Youtube Channel---> click hereTo Invest In Gold & Silver, CHECK OUT—-> Www.Cocsilver.com 10% OFF Rife Machine---> https://rifemachine.myshopify.com/?rfsn=7689156.6a9b5c To find the Meta Mysteries Podcast---> https://open.spotify.com/show/6IshwF6qc2iuqz3WTPz9Wv?si=3a32c8f730b34e79 50% OFF Adam&Eve products---> :adameve.com (promo code : CULT) To Sign up for our Rokfin go to --> Rokfin.com/cultofconspiracy Cult Of Conspiracy Linktree ---> https://linktr.ee/cultofconspiracyBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/cult-of-conspiracy--5700337/support.

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed
How Scientology Plants Its Seeds in Local Politics - Scientology Secrets #5

Blown for Good: Scientology Exposed

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2025 76:35 Transcription Available


Send us a textScientology infiltrates government by creating seemingly benign front groups and securing official proclamations that hide their connection to the controversial organization.• Operation Snow White was Scientology's 1970s program to infiltrate government offices and remove damaging information about the organization• 12 Scientology officials, including L. Ron Hubbard's wife, were imprisoned following FBI raids that uncovered their illegal activities• After arrests, Scientology simply rebranded the Guardian's Office as the Office of Special Affairs without changing personnel or practices• Modern Scientology uses front groups like The Way to Happiness, Narconon, and Dianetics to approach government officials without mentioning Scientology• Brighton, Colorado mayor rescinded a Dianetics Day proclamation after learning it was connected to Scientology• Scientology uses government proclamations both for external legitimacy and internal propaganda, showing them at events to convince members the organization is expanding• Email campaigns to government officials deliberately avoid mentioning Scientology, focusing instead on mental health or community improvement• Former Scientologists are developing resource kits for local officials to recognize and avoid unwitting endorsement of Scientology front groups• Mother's Day is particularly difficult for former Scientologists whose families have disconnected from them under organization pressureIf you're facing disconnection or know someone trapped in Scientology, the Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation has resources to help, including a dedicated law enforcement crisis line.Support the showBFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/Blown For Good on Audible - https://www.amazon.com/Blown-for-Good-Marc-Headley-audiobook/dp/B07GC6ZKGQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/PODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503 RSS: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2131160.rss YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS: Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...

KONCRETE Podcast
#302 - Cult Investigator: Satanic Rituals, Scientology & Israel-Palestine | Lawrence Wright

KONCRETE Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 197:34


Watch every episode ad-free & uncensored on Patreon: https://patreon.com/dannyjones Lawrence Wright is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of multiple books including "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood & the Prison of Belief", and "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11". His newest book "The Human Scale" tells a story of an Israeli cop and a Palestinian-American FBI agent who join forces to solve the murder of an Israeli police chief in the West Bank. SPONSORS https://cash.app - Download Cash App today & use code DANNY10 http://evening.ver.so/danny - Use code DANNY for 15% off your first order. https://whiterabbitenergy.com/?ref=DJP - Use code DJP for 20% off EPISODE LINKS The Human Scale - https://a.co/d/62tQUig Going Clear - https://a.co/d/d6csGr9 The Looming Tower - https://a.co/d/dfySVIo FOLLOW DANNY JONES https://www.instagram.com/dannyjones https://twitter.com/jonesdanny OUTLINE 00:00 - Scientology's Sea Org 19:04 - L. Ron Hubbard's deathbed confession 30:16 - How has Scientology survived? 34:26 - Jim Jones & the Jonestown Cult 43:36 - The Sisters of Mary Morning Star 52:39 - Fighting the death penalty 01:01:38 - Satanic ritual abuse 01:17:26 - Whitley Streiber's childhood experiments 01:22:58 - Jack parsons 01:26:34 - Why Lawrence gave up religion 01:36:40 - The new Silicon Valley ideology 01:44:37 - The Looming Tower 01:54:13 - Did the FBI allow 9/11? 02:06:32 - Where Bin Laden got his money 02:16:52 - 9/11 alternate theories 02:25:02 - The Human Scale 02:37:30 - American CIA vs. Israel's Mossad 02:44:58 - Israel's troubled history 03:03:47 - How Lawrence chooses projects Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Vinnie Full Show
Hour 2: Scientology with Tom Cruise & Technology with Scott Budman

Sarah and Vinnie Full Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 41:35


Mission Impossible brings us the newest Popcorn Bucket phenomenon. Plus, Tom Cruise is looking good these days - let's learn some fun facts about his journey with Scientology. A “possible stalker” crashes into Jennifer Aniston's gate. Scott Budman calls in to tell us the deal with this new Meta AI app. Thinking about letting Sam Altman scan your retina? Maybe rewatch ‘Minority Report' first.

Drew and Mike Show
My 600-lb Drew – April 30, 2025

Drew and Mike Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2025 158:18


My 600lb Life had some amazing food orders, Tattoo-Gate: Donald Trump v. ABC's Terry Moran, Brett Favre “destroyed” Jenn Sterger's life, Bill Belichick held hostage by Jordon Hudson, and the exciting conclusion of Cop Cam Megan. Schoenherr Roofing dropped Champion's Club tickets on listeners __________________! Theo Von is coming to the Fox theater for two shows. Politics: Donald Trump vs Terry Moran regarding a possible MS-13 tattoo. Trump took on Shri Thanedar at his rally last night. Gretchen Whitmer was forced into hugging the President. Several Philadelphia Eagles declined to go to the White House. Hey Christina Aguilera… why you look different? Bill Belichick is angry at CBS for editing their interview with him. Jordon Hudson has been popping off on Twitter. Jordon put an axe to Hard Knocks. Now she is a real estate mogul. Lighthouse Exteriors takes a shot at Drew right out of the gate. Sports: Cris Carter pops off on Shedeur Sanders' behavior. The NFL fines the Atlanta Falcons and their DC for the Shedeur Sanders prank call. John Elway killed his ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire' lifeline. Not-actual video of the crash. My 600-lb Life YouTube clips are the best clips. Beyoncé is touring, but nobody is showing up to the concerts. Scientology: Tom Cruise is nailing Ana de Armas. John Travolta is STUCK in Scientology. Sammy Hagar drops an Eddie Van Halen-inspired song. Sammy isn't holding back on David Lee Roth or Alex Van Halen anymore. Mike Peters of The Alarm has died. Lorde shows us her IUD. Pierce Brosnan is gaining the weight his wife is losing. Martin Short is the new host of Match Game. Alec Baldwin is unemployed now. We recall Burt Reynolds vs Marc Summers. Lee Corso is old and retiring. Cop Cam: Entitled Brat Part 2! Megan is crazy. The Fall of Favre is coming to Netflix. Jenn Sterger is in it. Yostin Mosquera is a double murderer and sex fiend. We end with a prolapsed anus… sorry about that. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (The Drew Lane Show, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley and BranDon).

Grumpy Old Geeks
694: Hammers Don't Hallucinate

Grumpy Old Geeks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 83:43


This week on Grumpy Old Geeks, Fyre Festival rises from the ashes yet again—but not as a festival, because even Billy McFarland finally figured out he's better at selling pipe dreams than tents. Meanwhile, Amazon and Microsoft are tapping the brakes on their AI data center dreams, Google's AI keeps confidently explaining made-up nonsense like it's gospel, and Kevin Roose once again tries to convince us to have empathy for the glorified autocomplete machines. (Spoiler: We won't.) Also, OpenAI wants to buy Chrome even though they can barely afford their own lunch tabs, Perplexity says the quiet part loud about stalking your browser habits, and Meta lays off more VR developers while pretending they care about human rights.In the “it's all stupid, but at least it's entertaining” department: Uber gets sued for making it harder to cancel than joining Scientology, Adam Neumann dupes investors again, sperm racing is now a real thing (and yes, there's crypto involved), and Bluesky caves to the almighty blue checkmark. Plus, Affinity Suite reminds us you don't have to sell a kidney to escape Adobe, The Wheel of Time gets an open-world game that'll probably drop after the heat death of the universe, and Wednesday Season 2 is on the way, because Netflix refuses to let its only hits rest.Stick around for The Dark Side with Dave where we grumble about Andor Season 2, lament bad writing decisions, geek out over old-school arcade games, and learn that memory colors are apparently a thing. Oh, and if you're feeling fancy, go ahead and thank ChatGPT for wasting millions in server bills—because if Sam Altman's crying about manners costing money, we're grabbing the popcorn.Sponsors:Insta360 - The first 30 people who use code “gog” at store.insta360.com get a free 45” invisible selfie stick worth $25!DeleteMe - Head over to JoinDeleteMe.com/GOG and use the code "GOG" for 20% off.Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month.SetApp - With a single monthly subscription you get 240+ apps for your Mac. Go to SetApp and get started today!!!1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1passwordShow notes at https://gog.show/694FOLLOW UPFyre Festival is becoming a music streaming service that might not be a scam this timeBilly McFarland Is Selling Fyre FestIN THE NEWSAmazon Follows Microsoft in Retreat From Ambitious AI Data Center PlansYou can trick Google's AI Overviews into explaining made-up idiomsDan Rather's Metaphors Anchored in Folksy TruismsIf A.I. Systems Become Conscious, Should They Have Rights?A Strange Phrase Keeps Turning Up in Scientific Papers, But Why?Google will keep third-party tracking cookies on Chrome as they areOpenAI wants to buy Chrome and make it an “AI-first” experiencePerplexity CEO says its browser will track everything users do online to sell 'hyper personalized' adsChatGPT's responses will now include Washington Post articlesSam Altman Admits That Saying "Please" and "Thank You" to ChatGPT Is Wasting Millions of Dollars in Computing PowerFTC sues Uber over claims the company makes subscriptions hard to cancelMeta conducts layoffs in Oculus Studios, impacting VR exercise app SupernaturalMeta's Oversight Board Is Worried Meta's New Policies Will Harm Human RightsAdam Neumann's Flow raises $100M+, more than doubles valuation to $2.5BChinese AI startup Manus reportedly gets funding from Benchmark at $500M valuationTwo Guys, One Track: Sperm Racing Is Now a Thing—Yes, It Involves CryptoRAMMS+EIN - 14.12.1997 – Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesMEDIA CANDYThe PittThe Last of UsCompanionThe OrderWednesday: Season 2 | Official Teaser Trailer | NetflixApple TV+ has its own spin on Indiana Jones, and it looks epicRiot Fest 2025APPS & DOODADSBluesky is getting blue checkmarks and an official verification systemAffinity Suite 2.6The Wheel of Time Is Getting Its Own Open-World RPG Video GameTHE DARK SIDE WITH DAVEDave BittnerThe CyberWireHacking HumansCaveatControl LoopOnly Malware in the BuildingAndor Season 2The Glorious, Terrible Delirium of Mon Mothma's Liberating Andor MomentLight & Magic Season 2Strong Songs - The Music of the MuppetsArcade Game: Lunar Lander (1979 Atari)When arcade games were boring.Hard Drivin' - ArcadeTempestMemory ColorsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.