How does it work?

Each episode of the Department of Bad Ideas consists of four rounds.

Impossible Implementation Unit

In the first round, our guests will pitch their solution to a policy problem they're given ahead of time. The problem could be literally anything: like preparing for an alien invasion, or solving a shortage of teachers in schools. Their solution has to be entirely impossible to implement, but so attractive that everyone would want to do it that way.

Points are awarded for originality, presentation, practicality and political attractiveness.

Unsaleable Policy Division

In the second round, our guests are given another policy problem ahead of time, and they'll pitch another solution. This time the idea has to be brilliantly practical, but political kryptonite. It has to be so unpalatable that any senior official or minister would recoil in horror at the very idea of fixing that problem with that particular solution.

Points are awarded for originality, presentation, practicality and political attractiveness.

The Big Idea

In the third round, our guests can pick any problem they want to fix and they have to convince me that their solution is the best one to solve it. It doesn't matter how ridiculous the problem is; they just have to pitch the biggest, boldest, best solution they have to fix it.

Points are awarded for originality, presentation, practicality and political attractiveness.

In the Thick of It

The final round is different. Instead of solving problems they're given in advance, our guests will take part in a quick fire round. I'll give my guests a series of policy problems, and they have to describe a solution to it on the fly for a minute, without repetition or hesitation.

Points are still awarded for every second they can speak without repetition or hesitation, and for how good their solution is.

Who will win? Tune in and find out.