No Bad Ideas

More mayhem, more ideas, more Crowley!  We’re delighted to have the inimitable Tom Crowley back for one more ride in the Bad Ideas-mobile. And the idea is Mr. Crowley’s! Tom lets us in on a secret source of revenue that a German circus has been taking advantage of during the pandemic, and we turn it into a rags to riches to bars fable of ambition… and animal poo. We also settle down and talk to To...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Stolen Cars! Unconscionable Emails! Misinformation! And special guest stars Amanda McLoughlin and Julia Schifini, co-hosts of the Spirits Podcast! We are joined by Julia and Amanda of Spirits, Multitude, and all-around badass podcasting fame. And boy do we need their help to tackle two exceptionally terrible ideas. First, Gabriel brings us the story of a (Florida) man who st...

Today is a big day on supersized No Bad Ideas. We have not one, not two, but THREE special guests joining us in the Bad Ideas Thunderdome. Beth Eyre, Felix Trench, and Tom Crowley, three of the amazing stars of Wooden Overcoats, join to lend their brilliance to a pair of truly odd and awful ideas.  First, Gabriel brings us the tale of a woman who tried to buy a baby, and somehow we blow it up and...

Today on No Bad Ideas... passports! Courts! Fraud! Deception! Ana de Armas! In our first bad idea, Zach brings us the story of a man who bought a passport holder and found himself getting a bonus illegal item in the deal. The gang brings in Sgt. Offerman to investigate an evil scheme being carried out through Etsy. Then, Sarah offers up a frivolous lawsuit brought forth by fans of a world-famous a...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Fire! Gangs! Drugs! Lies! And more! On today's first idea, Sarah brings us a hall-of-famer about an enormous Christmas goat that gets burnt every year in Sweden. The gang - once they stop cackling with glee - come up with a Love-Actually-like kaleidoscopic story about a merry gang battle royale. Then, Gabriel presents the story of a man who tries to talk his way out of a dru...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Florida Men! Underwear! The robot revolution! And the gang recording together for the first time since the start of the pandemic! First, Gabriel brings us the story of a man who tried to wear a piece of women's underwear as a mask... while going on a commercial flight. The gang tries to turn it into a film about an alien who arrives on Earth in the middle of the pandemic, an...

We’re back! Sarah kicks us off with a Belgian church in a bind, and we turn it into a sensational scandal that might be the miracle that bring the flock back. Then Zach introduces us to the Squirrel Board and we take the concept of keeping squirrels as pets and turn it into a heartwarming tale of an unusual friendship between man and monster.  Plus: Benedetta’s viral marketing campaign, an animal...

Welcome back to the first No Bad Ideas for 2022! Today on the show, we bring you: fake IDs, tattoos that determine your life, accidental hacking, and crime cell phones! In our first bad idea, Gabriel presents the tale of a man so desperate for a vaccine card - but so unwilling to get a real vaccine - that he tries to use a fake arm to bluff his way through the vaccination. The gang turns it into a...

In our last episode of 2021, we tackle a couple very normal and relatable problems. First, Gabriel brings us the tale of a Don Draper stan in all the wrong ways and we turn it into the cutthroat tale of a kid who takes a cynical scam much too far. Then Zach tells us a chilling story of a forgotten VHS tape that resulted in a felony charge, and we turn it into an origin story for the spy drama of t...

Today on No Bad Ideas... Airplane crashes! Movie diaries! Darkwing Duck as a person! Cocaine hippos! And more! In our first bad idea, Sarah brings us the story of the airplane pilot who meticulously documents every single one of his crashes... just in case someone wants to turn his life into a movie. The gang tries to turn it into a movie about a foolish man chasing the wrong kinds of glory. Then,...

Today on No Bad Ideas... Slapping! Hangovers! Sympathy magic! Operant conditioning! And more! In today's first idea, Gabriel brings us the story of a man who was so addicted to Facebook that he had to hire someone to slap him every time he goes to the website. The team turns it into the story of a wealthy businessman who has to resort to extreme measures to keep himself productive and civil. Then,...

A trip back into the Bad Ideas Vault this week, as Sarah brings us a tale from the exotic world of art thievery, where everyone is super cool and sophisticated… everyone, that is, except for the thieves. What will Gabriel and Zach make of an entire town in on a police sting operation? And how many explosions will it involve? There are definitely more twists than you think. Plus, roles definitely p...

Today on No Bad Ideas... Rumbles! Investigative reporters! Therapy lions! Community-building! And more! After a slight breakdown in our production assembly line, we are back with the first of two new episodes this week! In our first bad idea, Sarah brings us the story of a bus that is designed to put its riders to sleep. Wacky hijinks ensue when the sleepy passengers awake to find themselves in th...

Our apologies for the delay this week, but sometimes ideas just are so bad that it takes a little extra time to put them together. These may be the worst things we've ever pitched.  First, Gabriel brings us a story from the Internet’s homeland for bad ideas, Reddit’s Am I The Asshole?, and we turn the tale of a critical boyfriend into a contained family drama even Edward Albee would fear. Then, Za...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Robots! Courtroom Dramas! Fake Marriages! Elaborate Hoaxes! And more! For our first bad idea, Sarah brings us a marriage made in hell: robot dogs and guns. The gang does their best to contain their terror and revulsion long enough to put together the pitch for a prescient court room drama. Then, Zach brings us the story of a man who is having his friendship with a single co-...

Gabriel, Zach, and Sarah are taking a quick autumn break this week, but we didn't want to leave you without any No Bad Ideas this week! So check out this old favorite from our archives, featuring our friend Mark Pagán, producer of the podcast Other Men Need Help!  We certainly could use a hand, as Gabriel issues us an idea about a very unconventional way to settle disputes, which leads to a mockum...

Zach is off this week, but we’re delighted to welcome a long time friend of the show for some mayhem at NBI HQ: we're lucky to have author extraordinaire Zoe Tokushige in the Bad Ideas Hot Seat!  Things get heated with Gabriel’s first idea about a photographer who has a terrible time at a friend's wedding, which we turn into a Fellini movie from hell, with a weird ending that even European arthous...

We have cracked the code on badness this week and/or we’ve just cracked. First, Zach brings us a tale of woe from the world of cryptocurrencies and we turn it into a tale taking place during the actual age of piracy, because that’s somehow more grounded. Then Gabriel tells us about a business marketing strategy gone horribly wrong, and we craft a story about a man who's a little too weird to work...

Today in No Bad Ideas: detached human brains! Frankenstein technology! Lotteries! Drug kingpins secretly living in your home! In our first bad idea, Sarah presents the tale of a divorce that led to a heist of cryogenically frozen bodies... and then things started getting weird! The gang does their best to turn it into a thrilling heist story in a world where the über-rich guard their minds as clos...

Today on No Bad Ideas... Imprisonment! Dystopias! Literature! Very intense judges! And more! In our first bad idea, Zach presents the horrific news story of an alternative to prison that may end up being even worse (and more exploitative) than jail-time. The gang tries to turn it into the story of an exploiter who is hoisted by his own exploitative petard. Then, Sarah brings us the story of a youn...

We’re back at full strength this week, just in time for a pair of ideas that really go all the way. First, Gabriel brings us a nugget from the proverbial well of online bad ideas, and by “well” we mean the "Am I The Asshole?" subreddit. We take a prank gone wrong and turn it into the world's latest trend/cult/international conspiracy. Then Zach invites us to The Garden, and we take the story of a...

Today on No Bad Ideas: ketchup! Chefs! Football! Side gigs! Moral victories! In today's first bad idea, Gabriel presents an "Am I the Asshole?" spiritual successor to one of our favorite past episodes: the story of a man who will stop at nothing to sell his own particular brand of ketchup. The gang turns the ridiculousness up and concocts a story of culinary revenge. Then, Sarah brings us the stor...

This week, we have a couple super cute/disturbing ideas ready-made for your next Netflix comedy/rom-com evening.  First, Sarah brings us the story of just how many ancient artifacts might be in the US illegally (but conveniently all in one place) and we take it to a world where demons and devils have real power, and it’s up to a band of rag-tag experts to track them down. Then Gabriel brings us on...

Today on No Bad Ideas, a special episode from our vault of past episodes, featuring the amazing Lindz Amer and a lot of lions! This week, we’re joined in the studio by Lindz Amer of Queer Kids Stuff for two bad ideas and a roundtable discussion. First, we bring a Scooby-Doo-style ghost hunting gang into the YouTube Era and they form an unlikely alliance with an eccentric horror writer fighting off...

Today on No Bad Ideas: Pranks! Ex-boyfriends! Roars! Internet links! Spies! And more! In our first bad idea, Gabriel presents the story of a miscreant who decides to prank his ex-girlfriend by staging a contest looking for the best Chewbacca imitator. The gang turns it into a film about a man who is willing to go as far as it takes to get the role of a lifetime. Then, Zach brings us the story of o...