No Bad Ideas

Long Story Short Productions•nobadideaspodcast.com

The No Bad Ideas Podcast is the creation of Gabriel Urbina, Sarah Shachat, and Zach Valenti, three writer and artist-types who, in order to stay fresh creatively, have an excuse to hang out with each other once a week, and check in on what they're working on, take a terrible idea they found on the Internet each week and turn it into a compelling narrative. Or as close as they can get in 30 minutes. If you're someone trying to be creative yourself or even if you just appreciate a good story, you'll enjoy listening to Zach, Sarah, and Gabriel figure out how to make sense of the best (or worst?) absurdities the internet has to offer. We guarantee there have definitely been worse ideas.

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Episodes

Big Jim's Shady Friends (With Mike Schubert)

Today on No Bad Ideas: the triumphant return of guest star Mike Schubert to the Bad Ideas Thunderdome! Plus two stories of theft, technology, art, and daring getaways! In our first bad idea, a man's crypto misfortune is turned into a violent rampage of revenge... and its sequel... and then the sequel to the sequel. Then, Mike brings us the tale of a series of art thieves who take a very unusual escape route from the museum they have plundered. The gang does their best to adapt their story into s...

Apr 08, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 159

Goddammit, Bobby!

This week on No Bad Ideas: Airplanes! Stowaways! Performance art! Carbon dating! For our first bad idea, Gabriel brings us the story of a woman who has made a habit out of sneaking into airplanes all over the world. The gang does their best to turn it into an epic space western opera of one woman's struggle to preserve her freedom from the evil empire. Then, Sarah presents the story of a woman who is trying to decide whether she should break up with her immature boyfriend or not. The team turns ...

Apr 02, 2021•34 min•Ep. 158

Lies All the Way Down

Today on No Bad Ideas: road trips, excellent names, super villains, and gritty reboots! In our first idea, Sarah brings us the story of an unforgettable man who took a very ill-advised plane ride with an extremely ill-advised cargo. The gang does their best to turn it into a modern, dark, gritty reboot of a beloved 90's family comedy film. Then, Zach presents the tale of a mother who crosses some terrible lines to help her daughter get ahead in life. The team reconfigures it into a story of moth...

Mar 28, 2021•33 min•Ep. 157

Do Not Dungeon

We’re back - with some of the most extreme bad (and good!) ideas we’ve had on the show in a while. First, Zach brings us one of the worst kidnapping stories we’ve heard and we decide to ignore the awfulness entirely and build a tavern in a fantasy world where dumping annoying adventurers in a dungeon is much more understandable. Then Gabriel has a story made possible by Facebook, and having a fairly common name. We take a bad idea that turned out impossibly well and complicate it with some of th...

Mar 18, 2021•32 min•Ep. 156

High-Touch Heists

Today on No Bad Ideas: social media, bad dates, vaccines, and grandmas! In our first bad idea, Sarah brings us the story of a man who seeks a very distasteful kind of "justice" after a bad date. The gang tries their best to turn it into a romcom-y scheme involving a completely fictional pop star that isn't based on anyone in the real world. Then, Gabriel presents the story of two women who dressed up as grannies for the most timely heist of the year. Can the squad find a way to turn them into th...

Mar 12, 2021•31 min•Ep. 155

Pull Me Over (If You Can)

Content Warning: this episode's second idea contains mention of suicide. If you would like to avoid this content, please stop listening at the 19:00 mark. Today on No Bad Ideas: high-speed business opportunities and medical chatbots giving people dangerous advice! In our first bad idea, Sarah brings us the opportunity of a fast and furious lifetime: the chance to buy a rocket car at a steal. The gang feels the need - the need for speed - and does everything they can to turn it into an unlicensed...

Mar 04, 2021•37 min•Ep. 154

A Superhero of Terribleness

Today on No Bad Ideas... Rings! Thieves! Railroads! Mind Control! Clowns! Ecology Professors! In our first story, Gabriel brings us the latest exploits of No Bad Ideas's favorite superhero: Florida Man! What's he been up to? Proposing to his girlfriend... with his secret lover's rings. The gang turns it into a Western about a group of badass wronged ladies who are out for revenge. Then, in our second story, Zach brings us the tale of a conference discussing censorship... which was then censored!...

Feb 25, 2021•34 min•Ep. 153

Traditional... But Underwater

Today on No Bad Ideas, feline lawyers and extreme nuptials! In our first bad idea, Sarah brings us the story of a lawyer who's video chat turns against them, and makes them look like a cat. The gang does their best to turn it into a high stakes, high pressure, public relations-based thriller. Then, Gabriel presents the tale of a couple who got married sixty feet beneath the surface. The team does their best to turn it into the next fish-out-of-water romantic comedy, with the added twist of a Mar...

Feb 18, 2021•30 min•Ep. 152

Stuck In The System

We’re back with two more bad ideas from The Future… and the future is now. Zach starts us off with an entrepreneurial idea that will surely have no unintended consequences and we turn it into a thriller that starts with the Stasi and ends among the stars. Then Sarah has a dilemma from the world of online education, which we turn into a con that brings a whole university together. Plus: our ten minute TedTalks, a week of white void, nearly-there technology, the reference squad, and the five least...

Feb 11, 2021•33 min•Ep. 151

Gotta Improvise, Baby

We’re wasting no time and jumping from zero to sixty with the bad ideas this week. Gabriel starts us off with a car thief who found way more than they bargained for in a stolen vehicle. A deeply strange riff on the buddy comedy ensues. Then Sara raises, if not the dead, then a standoff between man and ghost. We turn it into a story full of supernatural misunderstandings and misplaced confidence. Plus: the weirdest meet-cute, Ghostbuster merch, blinding nativity, small things going wrong, and a s...

Feb 04, 2021•31 min•Ep. 150

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