Church of the SubGenius

In this episode of The Lesser Known People Podcast, we explore the strange, satirical, and unexpectedly influential history of the Church of the SubGenius — a parody religion born from the minds of Doug Smith and Ivan Stang that spiraled into an underground movement embracing conspiracy culture, surrealism, and the eternal pursuit of "Slack." We cover: The origin of J.R. "Bob" Dobbs and his iconic pipe-grin How the Church gained a cult following among artists, pranksters, and counter-culture weirdos The theology of Slack, X-Day prophecies, and the Church's long-running war against the "Conspiracy" The accidental sincerity that grew from a joke The Church's impact on zines, early internet culture, and modern meme communities Equal parts absurd, prophetic, and genuinely fascinating, this episode digs into how a spoof religion became one of the most influential fringe movements of the past 40 years.