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Freedom doesn’t always announce itself with trumpets. Sometimes it looks like a quiet walk past an optometrist’s office, a cab ride that feels like a lifetime, and a choice that will cost you every family tie the group controls. We’re marking Claire’s 21st anniversary of leaving Scientology’s International Headquarters—a date that, by eerie symmetry, lands on the 40th anniversary of L. Ron Hubbard’s death, a milestone the organization still avoids acknowledging.

We open up about the machinery that makes leaving feel like a sin: disconnection policies that weaponize love, “blows and recoveries” that rename escapes and kidnapping attempts as internal metrics, and the secret “door welded shut” approach to anyone fleeing Int Base. From forced divorces inside RTC to the Hole’s coercive environment, we lay out how language, policy, and fear knit together into a durable cage. We also map the institution’s obsession with rewriting history—editing Mary Sue, Nibs, and long-time insiders out of films and lectures to sanitize the past—while highlighting the independent sources that preserved the record, from Sarge’s accounts in Going Clear to meticulous journalism.

There’s a tactical layer too. We break down how protests were anticipated and neutralized, how thought-stopping turns curiosity into a trigger, and why even a well-meaning conversation with declared SPs can implode a young member’s standing overnight. For anyone on the fence, this is our harm-reduction guide: understand the risks before you engage, and know that questions have consequences in high-control systems. We also talk about healing—adrenal exhaustion, the simple miracle of sleep, and the way health returns when chronic stress recedes—because life after control isn’t theoretical; it’s better.

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Blown For Good Website: http://blownforgood.com/

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Grief and grit can share the same room. We open with a tough roll call—Mike Rinder, Jeff Hawkins, and Heber—names that shaped how the world understands Scientology from the inside. Their stories invite a wider look at power, control, and the tactics used to keep people quiet, from humiliation and bullying to PR games that promise access and deliver nothing.

We revisit the surreal “inch wives” spectacle and pull out the pattern: deny, distract, and dehumanize. It didn’t hold because people like Jeff turned the lights on—documenting contradictions, sharing receipts, and writing books that translated insider systems into plain language. That legacy matters. It gives new listeners a map and reminds seasoned skeptics why persistence wins. Along the way, we also puncture a familiar myth: getting sick isn’t “PTS.” It’s not proof of hidden enemies. It’s life. When doctrine demands magical thinking, reality eventually walks in.

From loss we pivot to building: Comedy Works Denver is hosting a benefit for the Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation. Tickets directly support people leaving high-control groups with housing, transport, guidance, and a community that answers the phone. It’s fitting—and a little subversive—that a comedy club anchors this effort. Scientology brands humor as “joking and degrading.” We call it oxygen. Laughter helps us carry heavy truths without breaking, and it invites more people to care. Expect stories, support, and a few surprises as we rally a room to turn empathy into action.

If you can’t make it to Denver, consider donating, sharing the event, or sending an item for the silent auction. Your help builds the safety net that makes leaving possible and recovery sustainable. Subscribe, rate, and leave a review to push these stories further—and tell us: what question do you want answered next?

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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

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A year of relentless help and louder hope. We open the doors on how the Michael J. Rinder Aftermath Foundation turned complaint campaigns into fuel, scaled a 24/7 crisis line, and put bold billboards across Los Angeles and London so Sea Org members know a safe exit exists. With Claire, Mark, Phil Jones, Matt Pesch, Amy Scobee, and mental health coordinator Jeff Beaumont, we walk through what real support looks like when disconnection has burned bridges and erased lifelines.

You’ll hear how law enforcement partnerships now include an anonymous reporting portal and a dedicated agency hotline, making it easier for investigators to understand Scientology’s control tactics and move cases forward. We dig into the support groups led by cult-recovery therapist Rachel Bernstein, why anonymity matters for new escapees, and how a peer buddy system helps during holidays and tough nights. Then we get practical: education grants, GED pathways, and a 2026 push into vocational training so survivors can land steady work fast. Career counselors translate “Sea Org” experience into civilian resumes, replace paper systems with modern tools, and rebuild confidence step by step.

We also celebrate momentum: recurring donors are up, total donations jumped, and aid requests more than doubled. Testimonials—kept anonymous to protect safety—show lives stabilized, apartments secured, classes started, and families holding onto hope despite disconnection. Along the way, we share powerful cultural moments: a teaser for Brothers Broken, which lays bare the cruelty of disconnection, and John C. Christensen’s Pain to Promise, a frontline look at how help becomes a new life. The takeaway is simple and stubborn: when a high-control group tries to silence help, the answer is to grow that help, register everywhere, document everything, and keep picking up the phone.

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BFG Store - http://blownforgood-shop.fourthwall.com/

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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...