No Bad Ideas

Before you listen to this episode, make sure you read the terms and conditions. Go and read them, right now.  ... Did you do it? Great! That makes you smarter than the people in today's bad idea anecdote, who all signed away something very valuable just to get some free WiFi access. How can Zach, Sarah, and Gabriel turn these impulsive bad decisions into a compelling narrative? Plus, epistolary novels, daemons, the Great Forever, and the master of the universe.  Today's Bad Idea™: https://www.npr.org/2019/03/08/701417140/when-not-reading-the-fine-print-can-cost-your-soul

Support the show.

This week, 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 played by Jason Statham, agents of chaos in the background, a fistful of art historians, and revolutions which will not be monetized.

Today’s Bad Idea™: https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-47568323

Today’s Shameless Plug™: http://audiofiction101.com

Support the show.

This week we take a trip back to a faraway time when news could be faked and editorial controls were suspect at best. We, of course, are talking about the 19th century and are delighted to be joined this episode by Amanda McLoughlin, co-founder of Multitude, co-host of the shows Spirits and Join the Party, and all around badass podcaster. From the darkest corner of Reddit to the cobbles of Fleet Street, we take Zach’s trollface idea all kinds of places. Plus, monetization strategies, sticking it to the man, obligatory Walt Whitman tangent, knowing that the French Revolution happened… and that’s it.

LINKS:

Today’s Bad Idea™: https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/aykgcn/til_that_the_trollface_meme_creator_registered/

Follow Amanda over at https://twitter.com/shessomickey, check out her shows Spirits (https://www.spiritspodcast.com/) and Join The Party (https://www.jointhepartypod.com/), and learn about Multitude’s other fine podcasts over at https://www.multitude.productions/

Support the show.

This week on No Bad Ideas: a first for the show! In today's fan-sponsored episode, Gabriel, Sarah, and Zach have to go head-to-head with a bad idea chosen by our listeners! So strap in, grab your broadswords, and get ready to go on a madcap adventure of dark lords, gallant heroes, and LSD. Plus, the unspoken line between the supernatural world and the world most people live in, high high elves, and cautionary tales about why you should always be nice to your interns.  

Today’s Bad Idea™: https://io9.gizmodo.com/man-attacks-car-with-sword-in-attempt-to-slay-the-dark-1579403996

Support the show.

Another week, another amazing guest to help us tackle a truly terribly idea! This time, Todd VanDerWerff, critic-at-large at Vox.com and co-creator of the podcast Arden, has signed up to help us unpack the real-life trend of hiring fake friends to save face at your wedding. We toy with keeping up appearances and/or burning it all down. Plus, the perils of rock climbing, the defeat of The Patriarchy, and when having it spoiled somehow makes it better.

Today’s Bad Idea™: https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/08/05/419419307/fake-wedding-guests-korea-role-players

You can check out Arden at https://www.ardenpodcast.com/ and follow Todd’s work on Vox at https://www.vox.com/authors/todd-vanderwerff or @tvoti on Twitter. 

Support the show.

This week on No Bad Ideas... bugs, bugs, bugs! But before that, the Bad Ideas Band is joined by their dear friend Christian T. Kelley-Madera, co-creator and director of The Once and Future Nerd. But soon, it's all business, and (thanks to Sarah's bad idea contribution) that business is a truly unhinged tale of illness and entomology in the Caribbean. Plus, cockroaches bent on world destruction, the wrong way to eat a Reese's, and a very different kind of Cuban crisis.

This Week's Bad Idea™: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/01/sound-haunted-diplomats-cuba-crickets/579637/

Listen to Christian's Work at The Once and Future Nerd: http://onceandfuturenerd.com/

Follow Christian On Twitter: @Ctmadera

Support the show.

A wild Mike Schubert has appeared! And he's here to help Gabriel and Sarah wind their way through a twisty courtroom mystery, courtesy of Zach Valenti. Just who was it that really killed the defense's surprise witness? And how do the lives of twelve jurors depend on one single security camera? It's a locked room murder mystery, No Bad Ideas-style! Plus a young, plucky lawyer, #Sheriffed, and the world's highest stakes game of Mafia.

This Week's Bad Idea™: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/san-juan-sheriffs-use-of-courtroom-camera-to-view-jurors-notebook-lawyers-notes-sparks-outrage-and-dismissal-of-criminal-case/

Support the show.

This week on No Bad Ideas, Zach, Sarah, and Gabriel are joined by author and podcasting pioneer Mur Lafferty! Together, they dive into the story of one of Europol's strangest schemes for catching criminals. From there, things only get weirder as the team descends into the world of Caribbean real estate development and the philosophical quandary of honey, vinegar, and their respective fly-catching abilities. Plus, vampire parades, tourism at all costs, and a whole new level of Good Cop/Bad Cop. This Week's Bad Idea™: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/08/04/541635691/we-miss-you-europol-writes-postcards-to-its-most-wanted-fugitives Mur Lafferty's Website: https://murverse.com/ Mur Lafferty's Twitter: @mightymur

Support the show.

My fellow podcasters! We here at No Bad Ideas promise that we will find an idea on the Internet, bring it to our group of NY-based writer ne'er do wells, and give them 30 minutes to turn it into a good story - and this time our bad idea is a series of deeply strange campaign promises from the 1930s. Plus, Gabriel's French accent, what the universe rewards, and the elimination of poverty... after 10pm. 

Links: 

This Week's Bad Idea™: https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-weird-campaign-promises-4000176 Wil Williams' Article on Parasocial Relationships: https://wilwilliams.reviews/2019/01/04/podcasters-are-people-the-intimacy-of-medium-vs-parasocial-relationships/ Conversations With People Who Hate Me: http://www.dylanmarron.com/podcast/

Support the show.

Another week, another terrible idea that someone in the world once had, and which we must now somehow turn into a compelling story. On today's episode, Zach brings Sarah and Gabriel the story of a man who was running late, forgot his keys, and resorted to truly unbelievable and desperate measures to get to work. Plus, Comedy Airport editions, pure adrenaline, and thorny situations.  Today's Bad Idea™: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6589941/Pilot-filmed-Heathrow-climbing-window-passenger-jet.html

Support the show.