Bad Idea Social Club

Part of our REWIND summer series, we’re revisiting eight conversations that crawled into our brains and hearts, nested, and just live there now. This time, it’s "Alyssa Pacheco: Mirror Mirror" from Season 4.

Alyssa Pacheco (poet, author, artist) shares her story with Aaron McCall as they discuss the deeply personal nature of her work. Alyssa opens up about the influence of her family dynamics, the vulnerability in her wo...

Part of our REWIND summer series, we’re revisiting eight conversations that crawled into our brains and hearts, nested, and just live there now. This time, it’s "Scott Millington: Real AF" from Season 5.

Scott Millington (photographer) has always had an eye for real-life moments and in photography, he found the language to document them. Scott sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about how the camera gave him purpose, com...

Part of our REWIND summer series, we’re revisiting eight conversations that crawled into our brains and hearts, nested, and just live there now. This time, it’s "Rae Lang: Outsider" from Season 5.

Rae Lang (artist, Woosah Outfitters & Outside Coffee Co.) talks with Aaron McCall about carving a life that’s slower, wilder, and closer to the woods. They get into Rae’s evolution as an artist and business owne...

Part of our REWIND summer series, we’re revisiting eight conversations that crawled into our brains and hearts, nested, and just live there now. This time, it’s "Trash Hadley: To Be Fuckable" from Season 3.

Trish Hadley (boudoir photographer) shares her story with Aaron McCall as they discuss the mutual vulnerability and trust in boudoir photography,  the varied motivations of her subjects to be photographed, and th...

Part of our REWIND summer series, we’re revisiting eight conversations that crawled into our brains and hearts, nested, and just live there now. This time, it’s "Marcel Fable Price: The Poet and The Price" from Season 5.

Poet, storyteller, and former Grand Rapids Poet Laureate Marcel Fable Price joins Aaron McCall for a raw and deeply honest conversation about creativity, mental health, and the weight of grief. He opens ...

In the conclusion of the season 7 finale, Anna van Schaap (fine artist, tattoo artist, curator) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about building a creative life that refuses to be small. She gets into finding her voice and claiming her space out of passion and defiance, and carving out something different for women and queer folks in an industry with a history of the opposite. They talk about art history, women in art created by ...

To kick-off the two-part season 7 finale, Anna van Schaap (fine artist, tattoo artist,  curator) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about building a creative life that refuses to be small. She gets into finding her voice and claiming her space out of passion and defiance, and carving out something different for women and queer folks in an industry with a history of the opposite. They talk about art history, women in art creat...

Sara Pulver (illustrator, muralist, Dear Ollie) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about knowing who you are and building something around it. She gets into a lifelong love of tactile, handmade things that eventually turned into markets, a grant, and a stationery shop where she hosts her own work alongside over a hundred vendors with a focus on women and queer creators. They talk about tackling murals, life as a neurodivergent art...

Luke Grill (chef, restaurateur, sommelier, 1983 Restaurants) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about what it means to build something people can feel. He gets into cutting his teeth in some of the most demanding kitchens in the country, how dangerous it is to follow the crowd, and why holding his convictions is non-negotiable. They talk about the tension between art and business, building spaces that satisfy more than just hunger...

Mark Stein (artist, illustrator) joins Aaron McCall to talk about what it takes to go all in on your work and the cost of pushing too hard. He gets into growing up on cartoons, punk and skate culture, the wake-up calls that changed everything, and why being a lone wolf will only get you so far. They talk about finding creative community, imposter syndrome, getting out from behind your desk, and why if it’s not hard, you&rsquo...

AB (DJ, creative) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about confidence, rejection, and how your sense of self evolves as you move through new experiences. He gets into music as both expression and connection, the push and pull of reading a room while staying true to your own voice, and how failure, fatherhood, and life experience shaped the way he moves through the world. They talk creativity, self-awareness, faith, the creative sc...

Joel Hoekstra (cook, musician, owner of Meyer Music) hosts Aaron McCall for dinner as they discuss creativity, instinct, and finding room to breathe inside the things that matter most. He gets into the connection between food and music, how growth comes from pushing beyond structure, and how both create joy, healing, and a real sense of community when they’re done with care. As a music education advocate, he speaks to the imp...

Hannah Berry (artist, founder of Lions & Rabbits) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about community, creativity, and the work happening between the cracks. She gets into turning art into real community impact, building something without a clear roadmap, and why creative people are often the ones holding solutions that nobody is listening to yet. They talk about collaboration, economic and community development, the tension be...

Ryan “Ryno” Wasson (brewer, Head of Beverage at Coopersville Brewing) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about beer, endurance, reinvention, and learning how to live inside your own wiring. He gets into brewing as both craft and creative outlet, the discipline it takes to keep refining your work, and how running became a way to process life when everything else felt too loud. They talk about curiosity, criticism, relat...

Amy Carroll (photographer, artist) sits down with Aaron McCall to talk about identity, ego, and the long process of figuring out who you actually are. She gets into building a career that looks good on the outside but feels empty, learning how to create work that people can actually feel, and the shift from chasing attention to chasing something real. They talk about aging, confidence, creative evolution, and what it takes to let g...

Ahead of Season 7 on April 14, Aaron McCall and Joe Matteson sit down to show off the studio space, talk through what’s changing, and shake the rust off a bit. They get into the shift to video, what it’s doing to the energy of the show, how this next chapter already feels different, and why they’re both excited and a little nervous about it. It’s loose, it’s honest, and it’s a quick look at where...

Aaron McCall moderates a Creative Mornings Grand Rapids panel discussion on “Growth,” recorded at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre with more than 200 people in attendance. Joined by Ian Labardee, Bailey Sell, Hannah Berry, and Leigh Ann Cobb, the conversation gets honest about what growth actually looks like once momentum builds—imposter syndrome, uncertainty, shifting priorities, burnout, community, and the small, ...

Courtney Lauer (graphic designer, artist) shares her story with Aaron McCall and talks about survival, control, and the strength it takes to turn pain into something honest. She opens up about surviving and processing trauma, rebuilding identity through creativity, and using art to make sense of the things that don’t have easy answers.

Keep up with Courtney Lauer:
courtneylauer.me
IG: @courtneylauer

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Thi...

Jacob Betts (singer-songwriter, The American Hotel System) joins Aaron McCall to talk about creativity as something to hold onto when life unravels, how grief reshapes how we see purpose, and what it means to rebuild belief in people when everything around you feels painfully divided. He opens up about faith, art, and the defiance it takes to choose hope over cynicism.

Keep up with Jacob Betts:
americanhotelsystem.com
IG: @th...