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The Andrew Gold Show (Heretics)

612. Ex-Scientologist on Tom Cruise: What They Don’t Want Out

The Andrew Gold Show (Heretics)

Andrew Gold

Personal Journals, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.31.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2026

⏱️ 71 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Former Scientology enforcer Mike Rinder explains how you escape a cult that doesn’t let you leave. Before his death, Mike Rinder sat down with me to tell the full story of how he spent more than 30 years at the very top of Scientology — enforcing its rules, silencing critics, and stopping others from leaving — before secretly planning his own escape at the age of 52. In this conversation, Mike explains why Sea Org members must escape rather than resign, how “blow drills” are used to track and retrieve defectors, and what really happens to families left behind. He also reflects on the guilt he carries for the harm he caused, the price he paid with his own children, and the moment he finally stepped into freedom with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. We also discuss:  – Fair Game, smears, and harassment of ex-members. – Why Scientology fears psychiatry – The psychology of belief, thought-stopping, and cognitive dissonance – Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and celebrity Scientology – Why smart people stay — and how some finally leave. This episode is both a personal reckoning and a rare inside account of how a modern cult actually works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:59.8

Hi guys, there are a few reasons I wanted to bring this interview with former top

1:03.5

Scientologist Mike Rinder to you. Mike sadly passed away last year, but had defected from being

1:08.8

one of the top attack dogs in the history of Scientology,

1:11.9

and he really did a great job bringing them to their knees. It's a fascinating story and one that

1:17.7

I wasn't able to share on Spotify with video at the time, if you're listening elsewhere,

1:21.6

the video is on Spotify now. Now that video is available on Spotify, I wanted to bring it to you. Also, the viewership has more

1:29.7

than tripled since this came out, so I'm bringing it to new eyes, the horrors of a cult,

1:34.5

whose kind of ideology I believe we see in many branches of politics today. It needs to be seen

1:40.0

by as many people as possible. Furthermore, as you may have noticed, I am making my Saturday episodes

1:45.4

more varied on here. In the last couple of weeks, we've done a deep dive on Wikipedia and a true

1:50.5

crime investigation into the drug lord known as posh Pete, who made for a fascinating and quite chilling

1:56.0

interviewee. These didn't go out on YouTube, so we're exclusive to your podcast platforms. Going forward,

2:02.4

we will branch out. Let me know in the comments on Spotify what topics you'd like me to

2:06.6

investigate on the Saturday episodes and share this podcast with others, with friends of yours,

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