Idea Factory Giveaway artwork

Idea Factory Giveaway

163 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 44 ratings

A guest-guided mapping expedition to the borders of human creativity. Join Jon, Besha, and a neverending series of guests as they search Jon's decade-deep pile of ideas for gold. Hear one you like? Take it and run! We just want credit (and a cut).

Comedy Technology ideas inspiration science culture technology
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed

Episodes

155 - The Algorithm Did It

June 22, 2021 05:45 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MB

We come up with a lot of taglines for this podcast whenever we record with Amy and I'm all about it. Also listen around the half hour mark for a moment where we all pause to take stock of something that truly seems like a huge opportunity in the convenience beverage market.

154 - A Measure of Absolute Flakiness

May 04, 2021 05:45 - 34 minutes - 14.1 MB

A truly astonishing set of circumstances prevented us from recording these episodes with Will, but because we believed in ourselves, we persevered: behold the fruits of our delayed but no less invigorated labor!!!!!

153 - Props To You, Kooky

March 30, 2021 05:45 - 53 minutes - 21.2 MB

Let's not mince words on this point: all of our guests are great and I would gladly have them on again at any time, but what Amy brings to this show cannot be easily replicated, which makes her a singular and valuable resource not just to the makers of this show, but to the nation at large.

BONUS: Buck Mustang's Real Non-Scam MAGA Show For Real MAGAs Or Whatever (MAGA)

March 02, 2021 05:30 - 7 minutes - 2.59 MB

I couldn't stop thinking about the idea of a podcast deliberately engineered to appeal to MAGA dumbshits by someone who really, really wants to run a cheap grift on them but can't quite muster the energy needed to disguise his weary, bottomless contempt for his target audience. I give you: Buck Mustang and the podcast he can't even bother to namedrop properly.

152 - All Roads Lead to Mayonnaise

December 01, 2020 06:45 - 46 minutes - 18.1 MB

Jenna's previous episode was great, but is this one ........ better? HIGHLY POSSIBLE. There's only one way to find out!

151 - The Brute Squad

November 17, 2020 06:45 - 35 minutes - 13.7 MB

Listen, if there's anything we can count on to remain constant in this world, it's that cats live to kill, German shepherd puppies are adorable, and Yuri is an absolute top-tier guest.

150 - Mixologists and Bibliophiles Unite

November 03, 2020 06:45 - 33 minutes - 13.2 MB

In which Jenna, one of our favorite guests, makes a triumphant return, this time with an idea file of her own that turns out to be full -- full! -- of untold treasures.

149 - Cone Snail Hole

October 20, 2020 05:45 - 35 minutes - 14.1 MB

We recorded this one a while ago, but because she's goddamn fantastic, Yuri picked some real bangers, including a hopefully very timely one that I hope we're all able to relish in a few weeks.

148 - The Internet of Creep

October 06, 2020 05:45 - 34 minutes - 13.3 MB

As always, Gary delivers. Also, I feel like I'm in fairly exalted company, having had (some time ago) an idea along the same lines as something Becky Chambers put into one of her books.

147 - Non-Euclidean Dice

September 15, 2020 05:45 - 35 minutes - 14 MB

Arlette's latest appearance delivers some quality booze notions and at least one kind of d6 that I would -- no kidding -- really like to see.

146 - Accountabilibuddies

September 01, 2020 05:45 - 39 minutes - 15.5 MB

What's the minimum acceptable level of grift? Is the snack food idea we had subtle genius or absolute horror? Who WOULD be the most (in)appropriate orgy sponsor? Gary helps us wrestle with all of these questions and more.

BONUS: Fantasy Star Trek Quarantine House Draft with the Combadge Club

August 25, 2020 05:45 - 45 minutes - 14.3 MB

Would any of the Weyouns make a good housemate? Which Starfleet doctor is least suited to being in quarantine? Which character will end up with a quar-times baking habit? Combadge Club also discusses the objective best possible paintjob for a Romulan warbird.

145 - A Crimped Whelk

August 18, 2020 05:45 - 33 minutes - 13.3 MB

Arlette returns for another high-quality installment; how do you know it's high-quality? Three words that will make more sense to you after you've listened to it: "Tactical Polly Pocket."

144 - The Followup Bureau

August 04, 2020 05:45 - 25 minutes - 10.2 MB

I don't care if I've said it before: Ken's idea file is a true trove of treasures, and I look forward to recording these episodes immensely. Everyone should have a Ken in their social circle! There, I said it!

143 - The Donuts Are a Metaphor

July 21, 2020 05:45 - 31 minutes - 12.7 MB

This one is packed with high-quality notions as usual, but I also tell the story of a very good, extremely fake business I took part in; we also set up what might sound like a highly exclusionary echelon of Star Trek fandom that actually has an almost trivially low barrier to entry.

142 - A Very Specific Kind of Meth

June 30, 2020 05:45 - 27 minutes - 10.9 MB

One of Ken's ideas is an amazing app but also just a new cultural practice for quarantine that we could start doing RIGHT NOW and it would be amazing. Seriously!

141 - Analytics Special

June 16, 2020 05:45 - 32 minutes - 12.7 MB

Did we have a system when this podcast started? Kinda sorta! Would it have helped? Possibly! Do we have fun looking at the data anyway? Absolutely!!

140 - The Tart End of the Spectrum

June 02, 2020 05:45 - 30 minutes - 11.7 MB

Never forget that while occasional acting co-host Jen is wonderful for many reasons, her food ideas are nothing short of monstrous.

139 - Corgi Tower

May 19, 2020 05:45 - 40 minutes - 16 MB

Never has an episode whipsawed so violently between mildly terrifying and utterly adorable mental imagery as we have done here, but perhaps that's to be expected when Amy (who's rapidly ascending the list of Idea Factory Giveaway MVPs) ends up in the mix.

138 - A Vulcan Moment

May 05, 2020 05:45 - 35 minutes - 13.6 MB

We get into a brief but surprisingly deep corner of Star Trek lore on this one, folks.

137 - The Costco of the Middle Ages

April 21, 2020 05:45 - 49 minutes - 19.5 MB

"Nightmares are dreams, too, friend." This episode absolutely bursts with quotable moments and candidates for titles, but then what else was even possible with Amy's third appearance.

136 - Garbage Research

April 07, 2020 05:45 - 35 minutes - 13.4 MB

It's possible this was down to Lily's particular skillset, but we discovered depths to one particular idea that I absolutely did not know were in there. Also, our cookie slogans are the best cookie slogans.

135 - I Put On My Robe and Wizard Pasta

March 24, 2020 05:45 - 29 minutes - 11.5 MB

This episode poses an intriguing question that we definitely invite you, the listener, to weigh in on; leave a review with your answer, I guess?

134 - Neil Young's Bootleg Jawas

March 03, 2020 06:45 - 38 minutes - 15.2 MB

The title of this one will make sense once you listen to the episode, I promise. I feel like I say that a lot, but that's because it's true.

133 - Velvet Rope 24-7

February 18, 2020 06:45 - 35 minutes - 14 MB

For some reason, this episode was also full of great candidates for new taglines for the podcast itself, which I'm not mad at. Also, I might as well offer a correction here, in that the guy in the M.O.P. video was wearing a shirt, not a hat (I swear it'll make sense when you listen to the episode).

BONUS: Fantasy Star Trek Bridge Crew Draft with Jen, Evie, & Avery

January 23, 2020 07:26 - 41 minutes - 15.2 MB

I wanted to do something special to commemorate the release of Star Trek: Picard, and I felt comfortable borrowing the format of another show because I'm positive they'd never get around to this particular draft (seriously, though, if you haven't already, give All Fantasy Everything a shot). Also, this was an INSANE amount of fun to do. If you're not a Star Trek fan, though, you can probably safely give this one a miss, which is why it's a bonus episode!

132 - Cosplay Bouncer

January 21, 2020 06:45 - 38 minutes - 14.9 MB

I really think I would get a good workout at the gym idea we found in here; I also have to say the dummy customization business we cooked up on the spot seems like it should be investigated. I'm just sayin'.

131 - The Redneck Olympics

December 31, 2019 06:45 - 30 minutes - 11.6 MB

Not gonna lie: Ken's idea file continues to be absolutely fantastic in this one,

130 - The Feelings Picture Closet

December 10, 2019 06:45 - 31 minutes - 11.4 MB

This episode also contains another amazing bad date story from Kelly, and that's really all I can tell you about it -- you'll just have to listen.

129 - A Tubular Falafel

November 26, 2019 06:43 - 35 minutes - 14 MB

Another guest with their own (utterly goddamn delightful) idea file! Hell yeah!! Also, something that only occurred to me in the editing is that when we were trying to figure out the country's five dominant fandoms, we completely forgot about Harry Potter. Surely that's gotta be up there, right?

128 - One Person's Utopia

November 12, 2019 06:45 - 24 minutes - 8.96 MB

Let's be clear that even though I didn't address it at the time, I am 1000% in favor of more Justin Lin involvement in future Star Trek projects, especially the one(s) we touched upon in the episode.

127 - Birthday Mode

October 29, 2019 05:45 - 44 minutes - 17.4 MB

I'll be honest with you: this one is bursting at the seams with juicy ideas ripe -- ripe! -- for the plucking. Take them and run! Run, I say!

126 - Intellectually Cuddly

October 15, 2019 05:45 - 36 minutes - 13.2 MB

I hope episodes like these become the norm, where I get to rummage through other peoples' mental junk drawers just like they do mine; they're fascinating as fuck.

125 - Inventor Dad, Inventor Uncle

October 01, 2019 05:53 - 42 minutes - 16.7 MB

Nick is also (to put it lightly) a very strong idea person, which made the episodes we recorded with him a goddamn delight. You'll see! YOU'LL ALL SEE!

124 - Miscommunicorn

September 24, 2019 05:45 - 34 minutes - 12.4 MB

Steve's personal idea files were a thrill to peruse -- I now truly understand why our guests seem to have so much damn fun! Also, now armed with two (2) data points, we felt confident enough to take a stab at calculating the average number of ideas/year a person might have; the result may surprise(?) you.

123 - Oops, All Roddenberries

September 17, 2019 05:45 - 32 minutes - 12.3 MB

Molly gave us an idea at the end of this episode that will send you into a momentary trance as you imagine how much better public transit would be if it could be put into practice.

122 - A Primarily Money-Based Theft

September 10, 2019 05:45 - 42 minutes - 16.8 MB

This is the first episode we've ever done that seemed to warrant a self-generated disclaimer, so I think we did some excellent work here.

121 - Braid Lobster

September 03, 2019 05:00 - 31 minutes - 11.8 MB

There's a nonzero chance that I may actually investigate the first party idea Molly brought up, because it hasn't really left my head since we recorded this episode!

120 - Time-to-Eyeballs Factor

August 27, 2019 05:12 - 47 minutes - 18.9 MB

Ben: "What did mayo do to you, Jon?" (crosstalk) Jon: "It's gross and I hate it." / Besha: "It's a long story." [pause] Jon: "Well, it's only six words."

119 - The Marie Kondo of Mail

August 20, 2019 05:33 - 35 minutes - 14.9 MB

It turns out Pumpkin Spice Life Cereal is a thing that existed, but for some reason I didn't see any of it last year. It's possible it might've been a Walmart exclusive?? It still seems like pumpkin spice anything should be more readily available year-round, dammit.

118 - Westeros: Long Island

August 13, 2019 05:51 - 29 minutes - 11.1 MB

A technical difficulty that went undiscovered until we'd finished recording renders this one slightly shorter than usual, but once again Ben delivers with a high-quality finishing idea of his own.

117 - The RUPAUL Question

July 30, 2019 06:05 - 36 minutes - 15.6 MB

In this episode, Besha hits upon the notion that we need a sound effect to play whenever I ask "are there notes for that one?" which I think is true, but I also think we need a different one for when there are notes. Cat meow? Reggaeton airhorn? Let us know your thoughts! Taking nominations now!!

116 - The Lesser Chrises

July 23, 2019 06:31 - 33 minutes - 13.3 MB

We should've had Ben on here forever ago, because the magnitude of the improvements he brought to some of these ideas is frankly infuckingcalculable. Also, the idea he bestowed upon us revealed a heretofore-unexplored world of frustration with the iOS keyboard.

115 - The Traumatizer 3000

July 16, 2019 05:53 - 31 minutes - 12.6 MB

In all fairness, I was unaware of the tradition of the Iron Ring among engineers, and I now consider myself educated; as ideas themselves go, it's a good 'un.

114 - Hewwo??

July 09, 2019 05:12 - 39 minutes - 15.1 MB

You're gonna want a refresher on this extremely important article before you start this episode. I love these people and I love making this dumb, amazing show. Also, we coin a term that I still like a lot, "anthropocentric utilitarianism" -- I promise it'll make sense when you get to it.

113 - Jet Engine Encounter

July 02, 2019 05:27 - 32 minutes - 13.2 MB

The way I like to describe my fantastic friend Gary to pals is "he's your favorite kooky uncle" and it's true, possibly the most true thing I've ever said; if you don't get that sense from this episode, you'll just have to meet him in person someday and then! Then you'll know! Also, seriously, we give away some amazing photobooth prompts in this one before we get around to gross(?) medical stories.

112 - Harold & Britney For President

June 11, 2019 06:10 - 32 minutes - 12.4 MB

Seriously: I will never get to the bottom of the mystery of Infinity Gauntlet Guy and this fact will lowkey haunt me for years. I can just feel it.

111 - Lord of the Onion Rings

June 04, 2019 05:32 - 35 minutes - 13.7 MB

Marri is a goddamn delight and you should probably all be aware of that fact by the end of this, her second episode. Also, let me know if you want to contribute to the LotR project, which I admit I still think about a lot. That and the grad student heists -- the angle she uncovered was not something I'd even considered! Genius, I tell you!!

110 - Soup Witch

May 28, 2019 05:13 - 35 minutes - 13.8 MB

I feel like I say this a lot, but this particular episode contains a fair amount of actual idea gold that I'm convinced could be a reasonable (or at the very least entertaining) business or two.

109 - Proto Health Goth

May 21, 2019 05:47 - 48 minutes - 17.6 MB

I really do want someone out there to investigate this D&D idea and get back to us, because we are about it, and you'll be too once you've listened to it.

Twitter Mentions

@ferociousj 1 Episode
@besha 1 Episode