PODCAST: Mark Ebner joined Scientology for two weeks and we're still recovering from it

Way back at the turn of the century, your Proprietor and Mark Ebner were both slaving away for a newspaper that no longer exists that was called New Times Los Angeles. We both took on Scientology as a subject, and we’ve been good friends ever since, with Ebner contributing some unusual and hilarious items for us here at the Bunker over the years. (Remember Gay Ribisi’s Scientology plaques, for example?)Ebner has done some terrific work on Scientology, but the one piece we admire most was his first: His epic 1996 article for Spy magazine about the time he actually joined Scientology for a short time to learn what it was like. Titled, “Do You Want to Buy a Bridge?” it’s a classic.And we thought it was time to have him on the podcast to revisit that work, and ask him about the newest book he has out now, Off the Deep End: Jerry and Becki Falwell and the Collapse of an Evangelical Dynasty. But be prepared, this is Ebner we’re talking about, and there’s rough language ahead!(At Dresden in Los Feliz, blowing off steam after the mistrial, Nov 30.)Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in historyAvast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at seaOverheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a timePast is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientologyRandom Howdy: Your daily dose of the CaptainHere’s the link to today’s post at tonyortega.orgAnd whatever you do, subscribe to this Substack so you get our breaking stories and daily features right to your email inbox every morning… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit tonyortega.substack.com/subscribe