Every Real-Life Conspiracy Theory Reference In Inside Job Season 1

In 2021, Netflix released its hottest, most boundary-pushing adult cartoon, and so far, people seem to be loving it. Created by Shion Takeuchi, "Inside Job" tells the story of science mastermind Reagan Ridley, who works in the headquarters of Cognito Inc., a secretive company that acts as a puppet for the world's biggest conspiracies on behalf of a Deep State group shrouded in darkness.

Our heroine surely doesn't have it easy. On top of all the headaches that are part and parcel of working in such a crazed environment, she also has to deal with a toxic, power-hungry, egotist father and co-workers such as a brainless yes-man sidekick, a supersoldier human-dolphin in charge of weapons, a Mothman, and a nasty, living, alien mushroom. No wonder she's constantly on the verge of a mental breakdown.

And when it comes to wacky conspiracy theories, this "Rick and Morty"-esque show doesn't hold back from pointing out the madness a large chunk of humanity actually believes in. But how many bizarro ideas does the show actually reference? Well, put on your tin foil hat as we take a look at all the real-life conspiracy theories that we could find in Season 1 of "Inside Job."

Warning — some spoilers ahead.

Whether or not you believe in Bigfoot, there are plenty of folks who are 100% convinced of his existence, and sightings of the scary big ape have been reported pretty much all over the U.S. While made famous by the notorious Patterson-Gimlin film, stories about a mythical hairy creature have been circulating the lands for thousands of years, as seen in pictographs on the Tule River Indian Reservation. Most people of today, however, believe the so-called Sasquatch is all the result of a mix between the human imagination, misidentification, and more than a few hoaxes.

As perhaps the most famous cryptid on the planet — rivaled only by the Loch Ness Monster — it makes sense that Bigfoot would show up in "Inside Job." Keep an eye out for the big guy on the series, as he can be seen carelessly roaming around Cognito HQ from time to time. 

The idea that the world is being controlled by shapeshifting humanoid lizards is one of the most ludicrous yet widespread conspiracy theories out there. According to British conspiracy theorist and former BBC sports reporter David Icke, lizard people are evil interdimensional beings who've interbred with humans and had their teeth sunk into world domination since ancient times. Some of these reptilians include the Pope, the Bush family, the Clintons, and Queen Elizabeth. (Mark Zuckerberg was even asked about his reptilian background once.) Interestingly enough, Icke is also of the mind that the lizard people are also pulling the strings on other shadowy societies like the Illuminati and the Freemasons.

In a deleted interview for Bill Maher's 2008 documentary "Religulous," Icke mentions this is where the old concept of the "divine right to rule" comes from — lizard people who've been passing their reptilian bloodline down from one generation of elites to the next. According to Icke, this goes "right back to the ancient world," and it's, in fact, "the bloodline of the gods." We don't know about all that, but we do know you can see the lizard people in their full glory in Episode 3, Season 1 of "Inside Job."

The myth about the Mothman has been around for more than half a century now. Reportedly, the half-human, half-moth being has been seen many times in the U.S. Some people believe that the creature is a sign of apocalyptic times to come, while others are of the mind that it's an alien being from far away whose intentions aren't entirely clear. Most likely, however, it's a product of the human imagination or simply a hoax meant to cause panic among the easily fooled.

The first sightings of the Mothman were reported in West Virginia back in the late 1960s, and according to eyewitness reports, the being could reach an insane flying speed of up to 100 mph. Needless to say, those who are said to have seen the Mothman were left with a deep sense of dread after the encounter. Some even connect its appearances with the 1967 collapse of the Silver Bridge. There's no need to worry though — although the Mothman on "Inside Job" might be a little creepy to look at, on the inside, he's actually quite a dear.

Established in the 1700s by German law professor Adam Weishaupt, the Illuminati (originally the Bavarian Illuminati) was an actual secret society consisting of people who believed they were exceptionally enlightened. They stood firm against abuses of state power and religious influence over society, among other things. The group functioned for a little longer than a decade before being completely outlawed. However, some believe the Illuminati continued their operations secretively, and the group was also blamed for the French Revolution by conservative powers and religious leaders.

All these years later, some people believe that the Illuminati is still going strong behind the scenes, part of the New World Order and currently controlling the globe from the shadows. Numerous celebrities have been linked to the group, including Kanye West, Beyonce, Jay-Z, Lebron James, Madonna, and Kim Kardashian. Needless to say, there's not a whole lot of proof for any of this. And by "not a whole lot of proof," we mean "zero proof."

Of course, "Inside Job" is filled with references to the Illuminati. As the group is often connected to triangle symbols, Cognito HQ even has a special triangle-shaped boardroom table where Reagan and her crew often gather to conduct their most important meetings.

The belief that humanity might have otherworldly origins is not a new concept. And it's also not uncommon for us to automatically conclude that if we can't rationally explain something, it must've been the doing of aliens. 

One such theory revolves around the Easter Island constructions of giant moai stone figures. And the big question here is how could a tribe such as the Rapa Nui have constructed more than 400 13–feet–tall and 14-ton figures more than 10 centuries ago? And more importantly, how were they moved from spot to spot? Well, some people believe it was the work of aliens. And one can only imagine the sheer astonishment European settlers must've felt when they were greeted by these colossal monuments as they first stepped foot on these new lands a few centuries back.

Meanwhile, "Inside Job" has its very own in-house ancient Easter Island aliens who, like many other mythical creatures, have found a home at Cognito HQ. One of them is the Easter Island bartender, and he looks pretty much exactly like one of those famed statues. A Jack on the rocks please, Mr. Rock Conehead.

The concept of the "Deep State" is one of the most widely believed among conspiracy types. Evidently, we're all being governed by a bunch of unelected elites — people so powerful that even the president of the United States is at their mercy. It's believed that the Deep State is also secretly pulling the strings on the judicial branch, the military, the media, banks, national intelligence, and big business. Former U.S. President Donald Trump himself attributed many of his administration's failures to the Deep State, which is something that hasn't gone over too well with other fellow Republican figures.

Where did the term come from? Well, according to investigative journalist and author David S. Rohde, for many years, the term "deep state" was being used in connection to Turkey, referencing the country's military and their push to stiffen the spread of democracy there. Of course, the Deep State at the very core of "Inside Job" is a lot more fun. They are, in fact, the ones who dictate all operations of Cognito HQ.

Believe it or not, the idea that the president of the United States is actually a defective, life-like robot is more common among conspiracy theorists than you might think. According to former QAnon subscribers, some people are actually convinced that President Joe Biden is a robot whose mouth doesn't even move when he talks.

"Inside Job" has a whole chunk of its story dedicated to a robot president created by Reagan to replace the real president. His name is Robotus, and while the robo-president is meant to be a mere servant of the Deep State, he's equipped with high–end A.I. and is constantly learning. This eventually leads him to pursue his own interests ... in taking over the world. And after freeing himself from Reagan's control and observing people's flaws through their online behavior, the robot president concludes that humankind must be wiped off the face of the planet. Quite scary, huh?

Stories about crop circles have been around for centuries, but the term was first coined in the 1980s. Although some believe that these incredible massive symbols appearing overnight in farmers' fields have an alien origin, most researchers believe they're nothing more than the work of hoaxers who are getting a kick out of messing around with the minds of the gullible. The mysterious formations have been used as a source for many books and movies, with the most notable among them being M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs," the 2002 sci-fi flick starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.

Whether or not crop circles are the doing of an alien life form or of some kids who are making fools out of the whole world, there's one thing that cannot be denied -– they are absolutely magnificent to look at. Even though there hasn't been a major storyline (just a brief image or two) about crop circles in the first season of "Inside Job," hopefully we'll be seeing some juicy crop circle content further down the road.

The origins of subliminal messaging can be traced back to 1957 when market researcher James Vicary flashed advertisements every few seconds during "Picnic," a romantic drama starring William Holden. The images appeared for such a brief period of time that audiences failed to detect them, but Viscary reported that sales for products such as Coca-Cola increased by a whopping 18.1%. Of course, as Live Science points out, it was eventually revealed that Viscary had completely faked his data.

Nevertheless, conspiracy theorists eventually started claiming that subliminal messages were being used in mass media such as television and pop songs and that they were meant to spread everything from government propaganda to satanic messages. It's a conspiracy theory that's become a fixture of pop culture, with the idea factoring heavily into film's like John Carpenter's "They Live." It also plays a part in "Inside Job," with one particular subliminal message calling on any person able to spot it to immediately contact the Cognito HQ hotline for a chance to join the Deep State.

The moon landing was hailed as humanity's biggest accomplishment to date back in 1969. Sadly, it was spoiled by a man who claimed it was all just a fake show recorded at a studio in Area 51 as a means to put the Russians in their place. His name was Bill Kaysing, and he wrote a 200-page book called "We Never Went to the Moon: America's Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle." Having worked at a rocket company called Rocketdyne, Kaysing was of the mind that, at the time, the United States lacked the technical knowledge to undertake such a journey.

Needless to say, Kaysing's theory is still alive and well today, with a substantial number of conspiracy theorists backing his claims without sufficient proof. And such a theory deserves ridicule, and "Inside Job" was more than happy to skewer the crazy concept. On the episode titled "Buzzkill," Reagan embarks on a dangerous mission to the moon where an unaged Buzz Aldrin has set up his own colony. Cognito HQ also has its very own fake moon-landing set, ready to be used whenever needed.

John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963 set the stage for a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the means by which he died and what happened to his body afterwards. For example, some believe that his brother, Robert Kennedy, actually stole his brain from the National Archives.

According to another wild conspiracy theory that inhabits people's minds, JFK threatened the power of the Federal Reserve, so the organization was left with no other choice but to eliminate him. Oh, and there's also the one about JFK being assassinated with the help of aliens because he was on the verge of exposing collusion between the U.S. government and extraterrestrials. Pretty crazy stuff, huh?

The JFK madness continues on "Inside Job." In the episode "Clone Gunman," Reagan accidentally releases several frozen JFK clones, who eventually mutate and merge into a giant presidential monster. That would be a tough one to deal with.

Ever since the announcement of 5G, there's been a group of people saying that its radio waves are hazardous to our health. According to some, 5G causes cancer, while others believe that it can get you infected with COVID-19. And then there's the claim that if you pass near a 5G network tower, you might automatically drop dead.

A few years ago, someone shared a photo of a flock of birds that had allegedly all died due to the 5G radio waves. It later turned out that the animals had consumed seeds containing high amounts of pesticide. However, that didn't stop this false story from going viral, and to this day, many people still believe it to be true.

Obviously, "Inside Job" couldn't pass up a conspiracy theory this wild. In "Unpresidented" –- the first episode of the show -– Reagan's dad says that 5G radio waves have driven him insane, and he even carries his own manifesto around, according to which, "the elites" are keeping his daughter from texting him back.

A few years ago, a Washington, D.C., city council member named Trayon White found himself in the hot seat after claiming that the weather is being controlled by the Rothschild family. White was firm in his belief that the shadowy elites are creating natural disasters to "own the cities."

Similarly, there's the chemtrail conspiracy theory, which alleges that puppeteers have modified aircraft contrails, causing them to release toxic chemicals into the atmosphere which, in turn, can result in a reduction of people's lifespans, sterilization, mind control, and weather control. There still hasn't been any credible evidence put forward that would support the existence of chemtrails — shocker, we know.

In Cognito HQ, however, the gang has their very own control room where Gerald from accounting has his hands full with weather manipulation. Plus, chemtrails are sometimes used as an inhalant drug by Dr. Andre, for whom getting high is always a top priority.

The theory that our planet is actually flat has been around since the beginning of civilization. It was, however, taken to task by the ancient Greeks and was ultimately debunked with undeniably concrete proof in more recent times.

But for some people, there's never enough evidence, and that's why the Flat Earth Society was founded in the 1950s, with thousands of its members believing that our planet is actually a flat disc. In the face of evidence such as images and footage taken from space, flat-earthers say that these are simply fake materials created by the ruling elites to hoax humanity.

Funnily enough, on "Inside Job," Reagan's dad, Rand Ridley, orchestrates the whole flat Earth theory with the purpose of tricking people on the internet. And there surely are no shortage of believers. In the episode "My Big Flat Earth Wedding" we even get to see the edge of the world, which must be pretty exciting for all the true believers watching.