jon atack, family and friends

Latest Episodes:

apologies, self-esteem, and other esteem with Jessica Terwiel Dec 31, 2020

Show notes

often apologies are not really apologies. Psychologist Jessica Terwiel also talks with Jon about the importance of self-esteem and the need for “other-esteem”.

art, virtuosity, and the stuff in the middle - with Rio Harada-Parr Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Rio joins Jon to chat about virtuosity, art, ego and talent. As usual, they make a whistle-stop tour of art and music history. See Jon's paintings, poetry, and thoughts on music, art, literature and life at http://jonatack.com

elfcam: Big Santa is watching you! Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

Light-hearted Christmas fun or cold-blooded manipulation? In the age of Big Brother, is it sensible to trick our children into believing they’re constantly under surveillance? Maybe deception really shouldn't be part of the spirit of Christmas.

Ron Hubbard: Black Magic, Dianetics and the Creation of Scientology Dec 28, 2020

Show notes

Jon’s opening talks from the legendary 2015 Getting Clear conference. Jon gives an overview of Hubbard’s own history – including his involvement with ritual Sex Magick – and the creation of Dianetics through the early years of Scientology. Including an interview by Stephen Jones with Hubbard biographer Russell Miller. Jon gives some surprising answers to questions about the founder of Scientology, including how many of the Dianetics and Scientology books did Hubbard actually write? Did Hubbard steal the Dianetic technique from psychiatrists? Why did Hubbard sell the rights to Dianetics to Don Purcell for one dollar? Why did Hubbard register the Church of Scientology secretly, and why did he register the Church of American Science (the “mother church”) and the Church of Spiritual Engineering? Are the Scientology upper levels an aspect of ritual magic?

You can rent the complete set of lectures from this important conference on vimeo, here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/gettingclear

do we make a difference? Dec 27, 2020

Show notes

Jon talks with his good friend Chris Shelton about whether our work makes a difference. As ever, we touch on many topics, including recovery from authoritarian groups and relationships, and the need to prepare the next generation so that they will not be so easily exploited by gurus, spin-doctors and other malignant narcissists.

links:

The Randy Newman song that mentions Hitler and Stalin is A Few Words in Defense of Our Country - here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0EAwSpTcM4

Bob Newhart – Stop It!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow0lr63y4Mw&t=138s

Empathy Quotient test: https://psychology-tools.com/test/empathy-quotient

Jon’s Never Believe a Hypnotist cites tens of Ron Hubbard’s often conflicting statements about hypnosis. A must-read for anyone who has been involved in Scientology. Read it free, here: http://lermanet.org/exit/parsons.html

Arnie Lerma’s Ten Steps Out of Scientology is here: https://lermanet.org/cos/8steps.html Jon does not entirely agree with it (especially the bit about realizing you are an ‘ex-Nazi’), but it is a model that can be varied according to the experience of the reader. Chris and Jon will talk in more detail about the stages of recovery very soon.

New Kadampa Tradition - a talk with Michelle Haslam Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

jon is joined by special guest Dr. Michelle Haslam; they discuss her time in the authoritarian group known as "new kadampa tradition", her background in psychology, and how and why people are drawn into destructive groups. links discussed in the video: the research of Miriam Anders on the cultic misuse of Buddhist teachings: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/11/622/htm

The Pema Chödrön Foundation: https://pemachodronfoundation.org the findings of the Australian Royal Commission on Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse: https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au

Michelle's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDz-Wk0ykecFBgB7Pg31cVQ/videos

and for help getting out of/surviving the NKT and other similar groups, Michelle's website is here: https://newkadampatraditionreport.org

jon's paper, the Total Freedom Trap: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/atack-freedom-trap.html

Sir Ken Robinson's work: http://sirkenrobinson.com

parental alienation and prevention with Nick Child Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

What happens when after separating, one parent turns the children against the other? Retired psychiatrist Nick Child talks to Jon about the dire failure of the court system, and how to focus on the needs of the children.

links:

Nick’s blog: https://thealienationexperience.org.uk

Blink, Think, Choice Voice: https://youtu.be/RdKPIK71SP8 (and Spike’s song based on it): https://youtu.be/La2NnQVwJXE

Socrates for six-year-olds (poor quality): https://youtu.be/vyD0l9En6Io

the Brainwashing of my Dad: https://www.thebrainwashingofmydad.com/

Institute for propaganda analysis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_for_Propaganda_Analysis

truth and certainty with Mike Rinder Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

Mike Rinder joins Jon again to answer some viewer questions and address L. Ron Hubbard's problematic relationship to the truth. They also discuss how the feeling of certainty keeps the members of many destructive authoritarian groups from asking questions, considering that the leader might be wrong, or even leaving the group.

links:

to Jon's paper "the possible origins for Dianetics and Scientology": http://home.snafu.de/tilman/j/origins6.html?fbclid=IwAR3-V34IOIp8GcbWyOk_jdRtuMEV2S4NiA_m-igR0O17DNAvn7A79uK8IdQ#F63

and the accompanying video: https://youtu.be/VGQXQaiLa2A

possible origins of Dianetics and Scientology, part one Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

Does Scientology have origins in Sex Magick and Psychoanalysis? Is Ron Hubbard’s claim to have been the only “source” of Dianetics and Scientology true? Jon examines Hubbard’s many borrowings from other authors and shows that Hubbard was aware of many of these sources.

This is the third in a series of recordings of Jon's papers on Scientology, all of which are available to read free here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/jon-atack/jons-writings-books-speeches/284316635347772/

To see the other two recordings of Jon reading his papers, see our playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOprfY0DnRsb0GBFQzrqmpMmNLRL6vmYi

To see Jon's talk on the history of Hubbard and the origins of Scientology: https://youtu.be/2ILs6yB-d6A

Buy your copy of Jon's Tao Te Ching here: https://www.amazon.com/Tao-Te-Ching-Lao-Tzu-ebook/dp/B072JL13DR/

And Let's Sell These People a Piece of Blue Sky here: https://www.amazon.com/Lets-sell-these-people-Piece-ebook/dp/B00BF385HG/ (now FREE with Kindle Unlimited!)

For Jeff Jacobsen's work on Hubbard: http://www.xenu.net/archive/lrhbare/ his other writings: http://jeffjacobsen.org/writings.htm and his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/cultxpt please also see

Caroline Letkeman’s excellent work on the origins of Scientology: http://www.carolineletkeman.org/propaganda/papers.html

possible origins of Dianetics and Scientology, part two Dec 21, 2020

Show notes

the second part of Jon's paper about Ron Hubbard's plagiarism. Hubbard was not the 'sole source' of Dianetics and Scientology, nor did all of the 'major' ideas come from him. With a comparison of Tibetan ideas popularized by Alexandra David-Neel in the 1930s to some of the fundamental ideas of Scientology. With many thanks to Mark Owen Plummer, for help in finding the right covers to the correct editions.

This is the second of two parts; here is part one: https://youtu.be/VGQXQaiLa2A

This is the fourth in a series of recordings of Jon's papers on Scientology, all of which are available to read free here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/jon-atack/jons-writings-books-speeches/284316635347772/

To see the previous videos of Jon reading his papers, see our playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOprfY0DnRsb0GBFQzrqmpMmNLRL6vmYi

To see Jon's talk on the history of Hubbard and the origins of Scientology: https://youtu.be/2ILs6yB-d6A

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