YouSaid · the spoken record

Aaron Smith-Levin

lines on the record: 177
first: 2023-02-25
most recent: 2023-02-25
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Travel the world, get rid of friends who don't push you up and don't celebrate your success. It's hard to give that advice to young children because kids are always so cat. But honestly, it's like when I see that really is, I just think not just advice to my kids, but some of the best advice to anybody. Yeah. Got anyone Around you who doesn't celebrate your success, just spend less time with those people. Surround yourself with people who actually want to celebrate your success and push you to succeed. I think that's true. I think it's even more important at a young age because if at a young age you get used to being around people who kind of take joy and tear you down, then that's what you become accustomed to. And I just think, you know. Having friends or love you and support you just about. Closest thing to the true meaning of life.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Not going to pay to talk to someone. Do you know where else I could do that? Scientology. Now, I know there's a lot of people going like, oh boy, I know there's a lot. I'm not shitting on therapy. I would rather have a beer with my friend and talk about this shit than talk to a professional for $200 an hour”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And people sometimes ask about recovery and whatnot, and like, what does that look like, and what does that mean? And it sort of goes back to kind of the emotional detachment is I go, what the fuck does recovery even mean? If you're an alcoholic and you're recovering, you know what that means. I used to drink, I don't drink now. Well, I used to be an occult and I'm not an occult now. How else am I supposed to feel about this for someone to be like, it seems like you've recovered? What the fuck does that even mean? Like I'm sure some academic hasn't answered that question. I'm not someone who particular, I don't spend any time thinking about that. My recovery is success and a little bit of trolling and revenge. But mostly success. What does it mean to be a recovered former cult member? What you don't cry when people ask you about your brother? I don't know what it means. I've never had therapy, but not because I'm still like against it from Scientology. I just like.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And he almost gets pissed off at everyone around him for being so pouty about it. But you know, watch that show again. Same way again.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Do here, and then once I figure out the answer to that question, I'm actually quite chipper and happy. You know, like that's sort of my default. Like you could give me six horrible options. Once I figure out the best of those six, I'm going to feel like I just had a pretty good day.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've never personally, even at the darkest times, I've never experienced anything that I would characterize as depression, certainly not ever any suicidal thoughts or anything. Even in the darkest of times, and again, this one thing I go, is it because of Scientology or is it just me? There really is an emotional detachment. There almost has to be.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And you can't keep Scientology from destroying your family. And literally, it's funny. I mentioned this show a lot because I watch that and I go like, that's exactly how I felt. I talk about this six months or 12 months, whatever was of impending doom. It's not like I was an emotional rector during that time. You know, in private, I was, but it's not like... Was just freaking out. It was like the sun's going to come up tomorrow. The world's going to keep spinning. I can't control it. This is hard. I can't believe this is happening. Tomorrow's a new”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Two moments would equal the darkest moment. It would be that And also just the period of, you know. Six, nine, 12 months of impending doom. My wife's whole family was going to be obliterated. And that there's nothing we could do about it. Kind of telling ourselves every step of the way it wasn't really going to happen. And I really felt like You ever watched the Ozarks I felt like Marty Byrd. Now, this was happening before the Ozarks, but when I watched the Ozarks and I see that character. The entire world is crumbling down around him, and all he can All right, what's the next step? I watch Marty Bird and I go, that's my fucking spirit animal. Because you can only control what you can control.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Scientology experience. You know, he died in a car accident that wasn't technically his fault or anything. Like, he wasn't even the one driving. But the fact, the specific fact of his death was not meaning, like the fact and the manner of his death wasn't like specifically because of Scientology. But our story and how where our relationship got to and how he was even in a position of having something like that happen to him is directly attributable to Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of my episode on the Lee Remedy in the Aftermath show. Was talking about me and my twin brother. It's just a pretty horrible story. It's just a pretty horrible story. So I do have a younger brother who's still in Scientology and disconnected from me, but I never had much of a relationship with that brother. Really, to begin with, right? But my twin brother died when I was like 23 or 24. And that was without any question a direct result of.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I said they've essentially created a Scientology proof virus, a Scientology resistant strain by throwing everything they have at us for so many years. They have just, through natural selection, created people who just do not give a damn about anything they could or would do. And maybe there is something a little wrong with me because when I get a phone call from someone, like, I just got this phone call about you. And it's clear that at Scientology PIs doing work behind the scenes, I get really excited. I get really excited. I don't get nervous. I'm going to go like, oh no, it's happening. I'm like, oh yeah, this is going to be exciting. I'm like, okay, because everything they try to do to me. I'm going to figure out how to reflect it back on them and make them look ridiculous.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The fear was knowing how the family was going to be destroyed and trying to prevent that. I was terrified of that happening It There's nothing left to be afraid of. And that's kind of the thing. Like, they created this beast. And the same is true for Mark Headley.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And they can't do anything else to him, then maybe I can do it too. I would love it. I would love there if it would be a 20 channels where former Scientologists talk about their experience.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Think it's one of those things that once you've seen behind the curtain and you see the Wizard of Oz is just a silly man, you just don't have any fear. Now it's one of these things like people say, oh, you're so brave. And I go, what's that quote? Bravery is, you know, being a soldier and being afraid and going in any way. Not rapes running if you don't think nothing's going to happen to you. I'm just trying to, I do not hold myself up as an example of bravery because It's not like, oh, they could destroy me, but I don't care. No, there's not a damn thing they can do to me. And it's one of the reasons I continue to put out content every day, to just basically go, hey, still here. I dare you to try to do something about it, but you can't and hope that that also serves as kind of an example for other people to go, if this schmo can do it.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, I call it soft corruption. So another example you have the mayor of Clearwater, Frank Hibbard. Well, he used to, when he won his recent election, he stepped down from some of these nonprofits that he served on. But the nonprofits that he served on also gets millions of dollars of donations from some of Scientology's richest Clearwater members, right? You have one of the mayors best friends, Joe Burdett, literally a paid lobbyist for Scientology. So that creates a chilling effect on anyone who's going to be talking smack about Scientology because His friends are on their damn payroll. So I call it soft corruption. It's not illegal. It's not illegal, but it's how Scientology wields influence. And what's ironic is that a lot of these people who work on Scientology's behalf actually secretly hate Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Who likes will literally operate a Scientology spies? You know, someone comes in and follows a report about some child sex case, someone in the Clearwater PD is calling Sarah Heller at the Office of Special Affairs at the Flank Addin Base to let her know, hey, heads up, we got a thing coming in. And then Scientology can run around and go talk to all the Scientologists who have knowledge about this and either get them out of Clearwater, you know,”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I meant more the courts and regulators, not the police department, but Well, for example, it can come down to something as simple as this in Clearwater, Scientology hires Clearwater Police to do off-duty work for them. They pay like three times their normal off-duty rate. So they will, even though I'm not aware of anyone on the Clearwater PD who's actually a Scientologist, they basically end up with, they would call them allies or safe points. Got it. People”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That is the one way they effectively put their money to use is lobbyists and attorneys, judges, very rarely have they ever been able just to get a politician on their side. It's the behind the scenes people. Greta Van Sustrin is a very high-level long-term Scientologist, and her husband, I always get it wrong. It's either Jim Cole or John Cole. I always get it wrong. He's a very powerful attorney who has a lot wields a lot of influence behind the scenes. And that's just one example. Like the reason why that's an interesting example is because he's actually a Scientologist and he travels in those circles. Scientology, though, it's money goes to good use by hiring non-Scientologists, retired judges, attorneys, lobbyists. It really is how they get almost anything done, like Miscavige himself is not hobnobbing and gladhan and shaking hands and meeting these folks. It's the non-Scientologist professionals who work behind the scenes on Scientology's behalf.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's kind of remarkable they haven't been able to capitalize on these bot armies because there's one thing that they have it's a lot of tax free money that they got nothing else better to do.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I'll tell you, I trained Jiu Jitsu as well, and I have found that community of people to be one of the most loving and helpful group of people ever. Shout out to John Keller, Gracie Baja Clearwater. No, but seriously, like, it's one of the reasons I continue to do it, despite my back, my hip, my shoulder. It's like it's just such a cool group of guys.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“100%. But not because I'm like fully conversant with the academic differentiations between what's a religion and what's a cult. I mean, Scientology would say, well, all small new religions are cults. And I don't know, that's probably true. Some people would say all religions are cults. And I'd be like, depends on how you define religion and it depends on how you define cults. But I just fall back on my thing of like, if you're destroying families, Bankrupting your members, you're a cult.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think he wrote that policy before he created the C organization. And then what happened is, this is actually how this came into effect, he created the C organization. You had a lot of people on a ship, and everybody was just banging each other, and it created just a nightmare of personal relationship. It was making production impossible. Not because everybody was spending so much time banging, but because everybody was so upset.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There used to not be. It's become very puritanical in the last many decades. For a reason I can't actually explain. Like Miscavige does seem to be infatuated with controlling sex. That is one thing about miscavige version of Scientology that's gotten very strange. I mean, L. Ron Hubbard even specifically wrote a policy that says we are no longer going to Regulate in any way the bedroom activities of people. He literally said from this point on, no one is allowed to be subject to any justice actions of any kind whatsoever for anything they do in their sexual lives, but that still did not give permission for gay relationships. That was still referring to straight stuff.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Allowed to take medications. It's just there's no rules expressly prohibiting it. It's just most Scientologists tend not to. You can take Advil, but many Scientologists won't. You just can't take anything prescribed by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or any drugs that are psychotropic drugs. I mean, SSRIs are considered probably the closest thing to pure evil in the world of Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Most of the sins from a Scientology perspective are just doing or saying anything that brings disrepute to Scientology itself. Remember, they don't, it's not like Christianity where there's rules if you break this rule, you're not getting into heaven. Scientology didn't think about things”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I've actually come out and said definitively I do not know of a single person who stays in Scientology because they're afraid of being blackmailed. It's just not a thing. It's just not a thing. Does Scientology have enough information to blackmail someone if they wanted to? Well, sure. And it doesn't have to be true. It could just be lies. Who cares? Who knows? Scientology can say whatever the hell they want. So that's the thing. It doesn't even have to be true. And actually, that would be the argument against blackmailing. Like in order for Scientology to blackmail you with that information, they'd actually have to represent that, yes, he really did tell us this. And it's like, well, why are you spilling secrets of members, right? Like it sets a bad precedent.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“They could figure out how to do all that without destroying families and bankrupting its members, they might actually have a future. That's why, like, it's funny because sometimes I feel like it's rooting for them to succeed and do it right. And I'm not, but it's an interesting academic discussion to have of like we can all see how much people will sacrifice in the names of belief and religion. We can see how much Scientologists sacrifice based on what they already believe. If he would just start treating people less horribly, you know what I'm saying? It might actually have a future. I thought I wanted to.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Best friends I mean, it's them against the world. How they see it. I think it's pretty easy to see how that works between the two of them.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He genuinely loves it. And also, Miscavige does there's one celebrity who does have the most unique experience in Scientology, and that is Tom. Scientology hires all of Tom's staff. There are no, all of Tom's staff are subject to interrogations by Scientology, not only in the hiring process, but during the employment. David Miscavige and Scientology runs.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“How can I help create an experience on the internet that if a Scientologist stumbles upon it, it will resonate with them instead of repelling them? And that is exactly what I have said out to do. And what I believe I've accomplished.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And during that time, I found my way onto the internet. And there was a website, it might have been esmbology message, but whatever it was, it was at that time the main source of critical information about Scientology on the Internet. And I looked at it. Remember, I was still a true believer. And I looked at this, and it was so... Offensive, insulting, hyperbolic, exaggerated. I was like, just a bunch of bullshit. Was in Scientology for 16 more years. If what I had seen on the internet about critical of Scientology, if what I had seen when I had seen it was something that actually resonated with me, that I was like, oh, that I believed was true, that seemed credible, I would have gotten out of Scientology 16 years earlier. So I was like,”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And it's one of the reasons I like putting up content on my channel so they can see, hey, like if you're a Scientologist, you look at that and you go, hey, he seems like he's doing well. He's kind of, he's happy. He's a positive guy. He's a good communicator. He knows what he's talking about. He's not lying. He's not exaggerating. I don't exaggerate anything on my channel. I don't make up anything. And this actually comes from an experience I had from 1998 to 2000. I was living in LA. I sort of had a two year period in my life where I actually had almost no contact with Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“100%. There's no one I look at in Scientology that I go, How dare you? If I was in their shoes, Having to operate under David Miscavige's orders, I would have done the same thing, and I would have loved it truthfully. I don't blame any of them. I mean, I take the opposite approach. If they knew what I knew, they'd be doing what I'm doing. If they knew what I knew and believed it, they'd be doing what I'm doing. They're not dumb. It's not dumb people in Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I don't want to see him make it succeed, but it does bring that question up, what are his motivations? Can he not see that he's destroying the thing he's supposed to be expanding?”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I mean, it started with L Ron Hubbard laying out a policy framework, a policy structure that, if interpreted and applied in the worst possible way with the worst possible judgment, can be abused in that way. I would make the argument that if an anti-broker had taken over, that Scientology policy does have enough little caveats baked into it that even the policies about disconnection could be interpreted and implemented in a non-destructive way There is room for judgment and discretion Miscavige has just created the worst possible version of Scientology. And that's where you sort of get that argument of does he even want Scientology to succeed? Because he seems to be hell-bent on making sure that he doesn't.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It doesn't have to go this way. There's another way that ends well for all of us. That wasn't even considered. And I go They created this monster. And that's a fact And that's why I take it. When people ask me, is Scientology a destructive cult? I don't even have to get into all the academic discussions of what's a religion and what's a cult and what's the difference. I go, as long as they destroy families like that, they're a cult”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So she's like. Kids who are Scientologists, who have spouses who are Scientologists, who have grants. So, I feel like up until that point, everybody was sort of making a decision for themselves and what would be best for themselves. Until they get to her The part where they were trying to get me to disconnect from my mom, there were hours that I spent talking to them going, you know guys There's another way.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's almost like, let me try to frame it. I wasn't trying to get kicked out of Scientology. I was trying to not get kicked out of Scientology. So what happened first, my mom got kicked out for basically talking some smack about David Miscavige. And then they go to me and they go, okay, you've got to disconnect from your mom, or you're going to get kicked out. And I lied about that. I was like, okay, I'll disconnect. But I never did. For a couple years, I lied my ass off about it. Eventually, they were like, this guy's going to keep lying to us, right? And they're like, yeah. Like, all right, you're out. So then they go to my wife. So you got to divorce your husband or you're going to get kicked out. And she goes, no.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“True. But another example would be like, I didn't go to school, Axe. I stopped going to school in the seventh grade. But people go, But you sound so smart. And what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to say, well, it's because of Scientology? Like, how do I answer that question? Like, if it's the only path I traveled, how do I answer that question? I don't necessarily want to give Scientology credit, but what the hell am I supposed to point to?”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, absolutely. But it's also the only path that I traveled. So, I tend, okay, a little less so these days, but earlier in life, I tend to attribute all my positive characteristics in me to Scientology because in my simplistic way of thinking, I was like, what else could it possibly be attributed to? A very black and white way of saying it.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't think it's anger. I don't hate Scientology. I don't hate David Miscavige. I don't even hate my experience in Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's one of my justifications for just putting up content every day every video is just an excuse to, in some little way, promote the aftermath foundation. And I do that again. One, to genuinely help people escape. And two, because I know it drives David Miscavige”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, we do three amigos with me and Mike Rinder and Mark Hedley. That's why I gave you Mark's book. I thought maybe you would know him from our little Three Amigos, our Mondays with Mike and Mark videos.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“He does a very good job talking about all of this in the book. It took him like four or five years to get that book done. It's a polished version. It's a polished version of his story. And I think Mike's about getting ready to start his own YouTube channel. So that'll be a lot of fun. Actually, Mike comes on my channel all the time.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Miscavige had just issued orders that was going to send Mike off to Australia, like Miscavige is sadistic. That is without question. He enjoys inflicting pain upon others. So he very specifically was going to tell Mike, tell Rinder, or tell that cocksucker, we're shipping him off to Australia. He's never going to see his wife and his kids again, essentially. And that's when Mike was like, they were the only reason I hadn't already left. So, if I follow the orders, Going to lose them. If I leave Scientology, I'm going to lose them. Least of at least Scientology. Be free of something”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The final thing is when he got to a point where he was no longer being forced to lie to protect El Ron Hubbard, he was now being forced to lie to protect David Miscavige. And specifically, it was about the allegations of having been assaulted by Miscavige. Mike Rinder was at some event, it might have been a grand opening for a Scientology building in London. And I believe it was John Sweeney at that time, a BBC journalist, who stuck a camera and a microphone in Mike's face. Is it true, David Miscavige, I saw it? Is it true? And Mike denied it on camera. And then turned around and to himself is like, This is what my life has been reduced to lying to protect David Miscavige? This used to be about El Ron Hubbard. This used to be about Scientology. It's about protecting this douchebag?”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Just not many of them. But Mike was one of those people who was actually doing Scientology even after he left. Now he no longer believes in that anymore and he doesn't do it. But even though he still believed, even though everything he knew was what he was leaving behind, he still had to leave it behind.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A fantastic book. He also narrates his own audiobook, too. I know you like the audiobooks. That's how I listen to So, Mike famously, I just said a moment ago, like someone who's treated so horribly, even though he still believes in Scientology, he had no choice but to leave. And he tells the story in that book. And he still believed in Scientology for years after he escaped. For years. Because there's this thing called the independent Scientology movement or the free zone or whatever. There are people who do Scientology outside of the Church of Scientology.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It really is a fantastic book because Lex, the guy was born and raised in Scientology and worked personally with Lron Hubbard and worked personally with David Miscavige for decades. Like, it doesn't get much more insider than that.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah, dozens of former Sierra members from the international base have told stories of being assaulted by miscavige. In fact, Mike Rinder is probably the one person who's been assaulted by Miscavige more than anyone else. He's personally probably been assaulted dozens of times.”
2023-02-25 · Lex Fridman Podcast · #361 – Aaron Smith-Levin: Scientology · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source