No Bad Ideas

The show's original trouble troika is back together with the triumphant return of Zach Valenti this week! And we do have trouble here at NBI HQ:  First, Sarah brings us an unusual problem plaguing the great city of Venice and we turn it into the story of a father looking out for his sons who accidentally finds the thrill of a lifetime. Then Zach offers up a typical tale from the world of Venture C...

Zach is missing this week, but to make up for it we have the honor of hosting a returning champion in the No Bad Ideas arena: Eli Barraza, creator of The Far Meridian, returns!  We can certainly use the help, as in the first idea, Gabriel presents a criminal's desperate attempt to evade the police, and we turn it into both a horrifying and heartwarming tale of a man who needs to embrace his inner-...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Florida men! Manliness! Puns! Conspiracies! Father-son treasure hunt teams! And special guest star Chris Dole! In our first bad idea, Gabriel presents a Key West tradition: the Ernest Hemmingway lookalike contest! The squad tries their best to turn it into a story about a camp where men (and one intrepid woman) are sent off so they can learn to be more like the legendary wri...

Today on No Bad Ideas: priests! Exorcism! Cooperation! People getting fired! And more! Sarah brings us a story about how demand for exorcisms are going through the roof! The gang turns it into a film about how an overworked set of priests reaches out to the leaders of other religions to help them meet a small town's hunger for exorcism. Then, Zach brings us the tale of a company that is trying to...

Sarah returns this week and starts us off with a healthy dose human pettiness, and we turn a legislator's quest to eradicate ghosting into the tale of a teenager suddenly gifted with the power to right wrongs and how they deal with that in a completely reasonable and not-at-all tyrannical way. Then Gabriel brings us a wedding proposal that has absolutely everything, and we move this couple's speci...

Sarah is out this week, but Gabriel and Zach are joined by writer, director, and filmmaker Maegan Houang for two bad ideas involving peanuts and intelligence tests! In our first bad idea, Gabriel brings the story of a man who dutifully pushed a peanut up a mountain to break a world record. The gang turns it into a Rat Race-style eccentric millionaire-driven comedy of errors. Then, Zach presents a...

Sarah is out this week but we have two stellar guests to fill out the required level of madness at No Bad Ideas HQ: the wonderful Chris and Jenn Sugden have returned!  First up, Gabriel brings us a contest that could only take place in Florida and we turn it into an underdog story of an amateur hunter who would give St. Patrick a run for his money. Then Zach gives us yet another reason for why eve...

The squad is back for a new episode, featuring murder, terrible hotels, and special guest star Octavia Bray, creator of Life with Leo(h)! For our first bad idea, Zach brings us a twisty tale of corporate corruption, greed, murder, shady stuff, and... well, lots of incompetence. The team pitches a film about a group of investigators who think the criminals they are pursuing are way, way, way better...

The Bad Ideas crew is joined by Avery Trufelman, the creator of Articles of Interest, to tackle bad ideas featuring relief funds, online casinos, and busted stereotypical gender roles! In our first bad idea, Sarah brings us the story of a man who received a much more generous Covid relief payment than he was expecting. The gang turns it into a film about a man who is desperately trying (and most f...

We're so excited to have one of our favorite returning guests back in the NBI hot seat! The great Lindz Amer makes their triumphant return to the mayhem of bad ideas that people have had in real life and/or the Internet!  First, Gabriel takes us to Tenerife, where a bit between a vacationing couple got way out of control and we transform it into a slow-motion horror story that makes us all uncomfo...

Today: we don't have a full episode of No Bad Ideas, we'll be back with some great episodes starting next Monday. But to tie you over, we present a never-before-head (on the main feed) Patreon extra: the story of an obsession that goes too far, and the man who has to compete with an irresistible force: Adam Driver.  Today's Bad Idea™ Support the show: http://patreon.com/NoBadIdeas See omnystudio.c...

It's our 200th episode! So we decided to do something we've never done before: we watched a bad movie and then tried to figure out how we might turn it into a good film! So sit back, relax, and laugh as we make ourselves reckon with that classic 1989 film... Weekend At Bernie's! Spoilers for the film found within. (But we strongly suggest you don't care.) All of that, plus: underused dead bodies,...

Unfortunately, we're short a Gabriel this week but we've tricked one of our favorite people in podcasting to come join us for a dose of silliness at NBI HQ: the great Lauren Shippen is here!   And there's plenty of silliness to go around. First, Zach brings us a small town conspiracy that definitely does not involve Banksy, and we spin it into a story of CC that also, definitely, does not involve...

We’re delighted to have not one guest this week, but two! Phillip Thorn and Øystein Brager, masterminds behind The Amelia Project, have come to NBI HQ put their considerable talents (and cocoa) to much sillier use.  We start with an idea from Gabriel about the way a couple can exert the ultimate pressure on their child to have grandkids, and turn it into a stealth Failure To Launch reboot that non...

The Bad Ideas team is hard at work on some new episodes, including our very silly 200th episode extravaganza. (Coming soon!) But in the mean time, we wanted to re-share this classic episode from our archives. We’re joined this week by one of our absolute favorite podcast creators, the head writer of Wooden Overcoats, David K. Barnes! We completely squander David’s talents, first, in turning the ta...

It’s back to basics this week as just Gabriel, Sarah, and Zach are at NBI HQ today, but we’ve brought some truly terrible ideas with which to torment each other! First, Gabriel finds a sweaty Reddit post about unreasonable expectations for normal water temperature and personal space, and we turn it into a horror meet-cute where the audience is going to end up rooting for a literal hell demon. Then...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Bears! Legal advice! Revolution! Fandom! And special guest star, Marissa Tandon, creator of new audio fiction series, That Vampire Show! In our first idea, the gang has to confront the Bear League! When a family discovers that the strange noises coming from the crawlspace under their house are a family of five bears, how will they evict these unwanted woodland tenants? Then,...

We’re delighted to be joined this week by the incredibly talented Ellen Winter, musician, writer, and teaching artist extraordinaire!  First, Zach brings us a Reddit query which we immediately decide is a horror movie, and what follows is a quest to decide just how weird a horror movie we’re making. Then Gabriel puts us all on blast with the story of a specialized cafe for writers in Japan, and we...

Today on No Bad Ideas... long-winded essays! Lost ideas! And special guest star, podcast producer Ponders! On our first bad idea... well, we run into some technical problems and lose the audio for the first chunk of the episode. Oh no! But never fear, we come back with a vengeance for our second bad idea, a tale of woe featuring a friend breakup and the longform essay that accompanied it. The gang...

Sarah’s out today, so we’re especially delighted to be joined by the incredible Mary Kate Wiles, of Lizzie Bennett Diaries, Shipwrecked Comedy, and web video fame! Mary Kate’s first go in the NBI hot seat begins with the story of a bad liar from Alabama, which the gang turns into a heist with high rewards, deeply annoying stakes, and incredibly slow moving escapes. Then they meet the soon-to-be mo...

We’re so lucky to be joined this week by not one but two adorable little audio guys: Multitude’s own Eric Silver and Mischa Stanton! We start with the worst/most bored security guard of all time and we turn it into a high espionage heist (of course), with the plots coming from inside the Kremlin, but not before making a ton of Red Notice jokes along the way. Then we visit the capital of world/bore...

Sarah is out this week, but we are joined by special guest co-host Sam Long of Singing Land Studios and Honey and the Sting. Together, we tackle two new bad ideas, featuring brains, snakes, and other slithering creepy-crawlies! In our first story, Zach brings us a report on the neurologist who was so set on pushing the envelope on what's possible that he ended up getting his own brain operated on....

Minus a mortifying impression, Sarah Shachat is out this week, but heroically filling the third spot in NBI hot seat is one of our favorite sci-fi creators, the great Erik Saras!  We start with the story of a very off-his-game, but very well armed burglar, and the boys prove that even the world’s most fractured fairy tale can be perfected. It just takes Keanu Reeves. Next, we marvel at the resilie...

Warning: This episode of No Bad Ideas contains some discussions of sexual activity in its first idea and gun violence occurring around underage people in its second idea. Listener discretion advised.  Today on No Bad Ideas: Temptation! Frustration! Sexting! Guns! Reincarnation! And special guest star Alan Rodi! In our first bad idea, Zach brings us the story of a subreddit dedicated to testing rom...

Today we have the pleasure of sharing some very silly ideas with one of our favorite folks in podcasting:  thoughtful writer, voice actor extraordinaire, and sometimes-business person, the great Leslie Gideon!  The silliness starts with Sarah bringing us Disney’s newest, er, immersive experience and the gang turning that into a thriller for the ages, exploring the conflict between freedom and safe...