The Underground Bunker Podcast

Aug 01 2024 87 ep. 55 mins 18

The Underground Bunker Podcast artwork

Tony Ortega has been investigating and writing about the Church of Scientology since 1995, and daily since 2012 at The Underground Bunker. The Underground Bunker podcast allows him to discuss that news with important sources who know David Miscavige's cabal better than anyone.

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VIDEO: US courts keep letting down Valeska Paris

Aug 01 2024 11 mins

We had a feeling that Judge Barber was going to reject the motion for reconsideration by Valeska Paris and the Baxters. But that doesn’t make their situation any less infuriating.We thought we’d add a little more background and details to this morning’s news.Want to help?Please consider joining the Underground Bunker as a paid subscriber. Your $7 a month will go a long way to

How is David Miscavige removing judges in months-old lawsuits?

Apr 16 2024 11 mins

We’re still reeling over what happened in a Los Angeles courtroom today, when Scientology managed to keep a ruling that was devastating for them from becoming final.How? By having David Miscavige send his personal attorney down to the courthouse to tell the judge he was off the case. How did he get away with that in a case that was filed last August?We explain how Miscavige is us

PODCAST: Phil Jones on the billboard, Scientology, and the Aftermath Foundation

Mar 16 2024 50 mins

What a week Phil Jones has had, with his stealth operation in Los Angeles to put up a billboard on behalf of the Aftermath Foundation, and then the controversy that then ensued.We wanted to ask him even more questions about what went down and how he’s feeling about it, and we hope you enjoy our conversation.As usual, you can listen to the podcast (above) or watch it at our YouTub

PODCAST: Mark Bunker on Scientologists stealing his campaign signs

Mar 09 2024 45 mins

With a little more than a week before election day (and with early voting already underway), it was great timing for Mark Bunker that Tracey McManus revealed in the Tampa Bay Times this week that Clearwater police determined it was a couple of Scientologists who were caught stealing Bunker’s yard signs.So we checked in with Wise Beard Man about how the miscreants were caught, wha

PODCAST: She infiltrated Scientology in Austin, and returned for its ‘Ideal Org’

Mar 02 2024 47 mins

We waited a long time for the four-year drought to end and for Scientology leader David Miscavige to start putting on his Ideal Org dog-and-pony shows again. But imagine how long the wait was for the poor saps who had been gouged for donations to pay for the thing as far back as 20 years ago!We were reminded of what those Scientologists were put through when Kat, a former Austin st

PODCAST: She spied on the FBI for Scientology and lived to tell about it

Feb 17 2024 52 mins

Readers have been raving about the pieces that Val Ross has been writing for us lately, so we thought it would be fun to have a conversation with her for our latest podcast episode.Wow, we were not disappointed as Val goes into some really striking moments from her life as a Scientologist.After we recorded it, however, she let us know that she had some things a bit mixed up on her

PODCAST: Emails show which local politician was trying to stop IAS protest for Scientology

Feb 03 2024 51 mins

Well, we’ve done it again. We’ve gone and collaborated with Apostate Alex and we think you’re going to like the result.Over at his website, Scientology Business, we have a fun piece about some emails Alex obtained with a records request that help explain the shenanigans Scientology that was up to with the help of local officials to try and squelch the IAS protest last Novembe

PODCAST: The three lives of Dennis Erlich, Scientology’s original Internet nemesis

Jan 27 2024 59 mins

November 1966. February 1995. December 2021.Those are the three epochal turning points in a remarkable life that is the subject of this week’s podcast.Last week, we were in Los Angeles to cover a couple of hearings in Leah Remini’s lawsuit. After the first one, we got a message from a surprising source. It was someone, a legend really, whom we had admired and written about for

Danny Masterson's attorneys want him released while he appeals conviction

Jan 19 2024 6 mins

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VIDEO: Apostate Alex's MP calls for government investigation of Scientology

Jan 18 2024 13 mins

Alexander Barnes-Ross continues to produce results, and this time he has a remarkable update: His meddling with Scientology's affairs has resulted in an MP calling for an investigation of the Church in Britain.We're in California and yesterday we took a cycling excursion to visit a favorite aunt, but we managed to do a Zoom call with Alex on our phone.Alex tells us that he had writ