You're listening to the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. You're escape to reality.

Hello and welcome to the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. Today is Wednesday, February 16,

2011, and this is your host, Steven Ovella. Joining me this week are Bob Novella.

Hey everybody, we're Rebecca Watson. Hello everyone.

Hey, Jane Ovella. Hey guys. And Devon Bernstein. Hello and happy Narconon day to everyone.

Oh boy. Good old Narconon. You're going to start to show on that note, aren't you?

Well, it's not my fault it was founded on this day in 1966, but our dear friend, El Ron Hubbard.

We should be clear that it's this is Narconon, not Narconon, which is a different Narconon is supposedly a good resource for people who are on drugs.

We wanted to get off drugs. Narconon is a Scientology front group for getting more cult members.

Right. Yes. But what's their, what is the front? What are they pretending to be?

Well, they're pretending to be Narconon. It's quite clever actually.

They've just changed one syllable in the middle of the word and continued to act as though they are simply helping drug addicts get over their dick.

But midway through the process, the unknowing drug addicts are suddenly in Scientology.

But midway through, I mean, I think they start kind of early in the process. Don't you agree?

Well, I don't know. I mean, maybe we could hear from someone who has been through the process before because I haven't.

But it's my understanding that in a lot of these front groups, I mean, they're very good at hiding the fact that Scientology is behind them.

And Scientology has thousands of these sorts of groups, like the citizens campaign for human rights or whatever their anti-psychology front group, things like that.

And in the case of Narconon, it's particularly insidious because it targets people who are at the lowest point of their lives.

They're, you know, they're strung out. They're looking for any help, usually they're, you know, they don't have a support network.

They don't have friends and family to lean upon. And so that makes them perfect for being indoctrinated into a cult and so Scientology.

Basically, sort of nurses them back to health probably does actually get them awful drugs. But, yeah, then at the end of it, they're addicted to Scientology.

And then, you know, which costs...

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