| Featured Guest Janet Reitman, Co-Hosted By Jack Girardi | | Print | |
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Guest: Janet Reitman Prominent Trial Attorney, Jack Girardi interviews Rolling Stone's Contributing Editor Janet Reitman about Scientology's current, controversial leader, David Miscavige; the church's celebrity marketing strategy; and the impressive poise of children who attend Scientology-based schools, in her new bestselling book "Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion". As a Rolling Stone writer, she spent almost a year reporting her National Magazine Award-nominated story, "Inside Scientology," published in March 2006, that provided the genesis for her book. Janet Reitman didn't know much about Scientology when she started researching the religion back in 2005 for the magazine. Since her original article, Reitman has spent more than five years researching the history of the church and its mercurial founder, L. Ron Hubbard. That Scientology has endured for six decades, attracting generations of devotees despite a legacy of secrecy and widespread allegations of intimidation and abuse of its own members, is in itself remarkable. Then again, as Janet Reitman writes, the church has always found a way, through a "combination of flexibility and mystery" to morph with the times: In its early days in Los Angeles, it reached out to free spirits and hippies, later to celebrities and, more recently, to African Americans and legislators. Intertwined with the church's history is that of Miscavige, who spent his teenage years as one of Hubbard's cadre of young aides. He was 25 when he assumed control in 1986, when "LRH" died as a paranoid recluse on a ranch in Creston, Calif., under investigation by the IRS. Miscavige went on to be instrumental in ending "the war" with the IRS and securing the tax-exempt status that deemed Scientology a church, a financial boon. Sometimes called "the pope of Scientology," Miscavige in the book lives up to previous reports depicting him as a small but intimidating leader, an occasionally unhinged little tyrant alleged to have frequently whomped his top execs. He is said to live much higher on the hog than anyone else, including the elite "Sea Org" members posted to Scientology's international headquarters, or "Int," a former resort near Hemet. Even his beagles, Jelly and Safi, who wore "tiny blue sweaters with commander's bars," fare better than people who have signed billion-year contracts with the church: "Miscavige was known to make his staffers salute the dogs, who held ranks higher than those of many people on the base."
Reitman also covered the war in Iraq for Rolling Stone and has reported on a wide range of other topics, including: the failure of the US and international relief efforts in post-earthquake Haiti; the Duke lacrosse scandal; the death of American aid worker Marla Ruzicka in Baghdad; and the national childhood obesity crisis. She has also reported extensively in Africa, profiling Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, and covering conflicts in Sudan and Sierra Leone. Jack Girardi, Partner at Girardi Keese, is one of America's Finest Trial Lawyers and our Co-Host, as always, brings out the most important key elements to the success of today's guests. He and his firm have been dedicated to working hard and getting the best possible recovery for its clients. Girardi & Keese's mission is to provide aggressive representation of individuals and businesses who have been injured in some way, whether by physical harm, property damage, damage to business, or damage to economic interests. Girardi & Keese has two offices in California: Downtown Los Angeles and San Bernardino. www.girardikeese.com
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Guest: Janet Reitman
Co-Host: Jack Girardi
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 08 December 2011 00:47 |
