A brave man died recently, whom I had the pleasure to interview a couple years ago. His name was Mike Rinder, a former leader in The Church of Scientology who somehow escaped its influence and dedicated the rest of his life to helping others get free. Someday, when our government finally comes to its senses and revokes the tax-exempt status of this so-called “church,” Mike will be remembered as the man most responsible for its long overdue dismantlement. For now, he’ll be remembered as the man who proved that it’s always possible to hit the reset button and start fresh, even when doing so feels absolutely impossible.
Rather than eulogize Mike here, I’ll direct you instead to the words of his close friend and fellow traveler, Leah Remini: https://bit.ly/40cBqQB. As you may know, Leah is one of the more famous people to escape the Scientologists. In fact, she and Mike have been leading the charge against their former church and saved countless people from getting sucked into one of the most elaborate cons in the long history of organized skullduggery with a terrific show on A&E called Aftermath and a podcast called Fair Game. Less famous is my old friend Spanky Taylor, who also escaped the Church. Spanky also appeared on this podcast, and more importantly, an award-winning documentary called Going Clear, which I wrote about in some detail here: https://bit.ly/4j8xbhE.
This is a clip from my last conversation with Mike. There’s lots more, but this will give you an idea of who he was, what he overcame, and why he spent the rest of his life trying to save others from making the same mistakes he did. I think it’s worth your time.
#podcast #religion #rip
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00:00 Being a former leader in Scientology
03:06 Working with L. Ron Hubbard
04:54 Describing the types of abuse in Scientology
07:52 What made Mike escape?
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