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A gleaming studio with a fence that listens. That’s the paradox at Gold Base, Scientology’s international HQ, where Golden Era Productions presents a pristine creative campus while security systems hum beneath the hedges. We take you through both worlds at once: pausing a polished promo film to identify the faces, jobs, and backstories you weren’t told, then riding a drone’s-eye map across soundstages, villas, tunnels, and the private grounds built for one man’s comfort and control.

We start by dissecting the “making movies to help the world” narrative and replace it with working reality. Why did manufacturing vanish while “training films” persisted? What does a lecture mix actually involve—and who decides which words get removed? We show the departments behind the doors and explain why an expensive film lab became obsolete on arrival. Then we move outside: the Cine Castle sitting directly on the perimeter, ladders and gear on hand; birthing blocks sized for a mythical 1,600 staff; the G Units reserved for VIPs; and the lower/middle/upper villas that formed an executive citadel. Building 50 and Bonnie View come into focus: a $40M command wing with a private tunnel under the highway and a lavish compound prepared for a founder who never returned.

Security isn’t a rumor here; it’s infrastructure. We point out the main guard booth, ground mics on the fence, floodlights that turn night into noon, and the drills that lock everyone down. The “intruder” they train for is often a staffer trying to leave. That’s why the escape stories matter: the trunk ride from talent parking, the riverbed sprint under night vision, the quick lie at a gate to “cross” the highway. Even the lake and pool have two meanings—resort imagery and ritual humiliation dressed as maritime tradition. By the end, you’ll have a mental map of how PR veneer and operational control share the same footprint—one selling capability, the other ensuring compliance.

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PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2131160

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blown-for-good-behind-the-iron-curtain-of-scientology/id1671284503

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YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS:

Spy Files Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWtJfniWLwq4cA-e...