The Injustice of SeaWorld's Captive Orcas artwork
Coup Save America

The Injustice of SeaWorld's Captive Orcas

  • S2E5
  • 1:40:20
  • March 6th 2023

Should an orca whale be the first non-human person to be granted habeas corpus? We think so. 

Dr. Jeffrey Ventre is a former orca trainer now turned anti-captivity activist. He joins Coup Save America today to talk about his feature role in the documentary Blackfish, a film that swayed public opinion about using marine mammal as performers for profit. Sean and Jeff compare stories about working for SeaWorld and talk about how they both bought into the company narrative about keeping orca whales in captivity. Jeff gives examples of the erratic behavior often displayed by captive orcas, and aggression which has on several occasions ended with the tragic death of a human. We hear the inside story of Dawn Brancheau, Tilikum the orca, and SeaWorld's lies and cover-ups. Jeff and Sean discuss the intelligence of orcas, how young whales were kidnapped from their pods for human entertainment, and what steps are necessary to get orcas out of captivity and into whale sanctuaries. Jeff hopes everyone will go to Amazon.com to watch the new documentary film, "Corky", about the longest living wildcaught orca still held in captivity, and he invites our audience to visit YouTube for recordings of past speeches given at his annual Super Pod gatherings in the San Juan Islands. 

Other topics include: Ken Balcomb, how the Avatar sequel is in conflict with marine mammal rights, the evils of river dams, how covid-19 lockdowns compare to keeping orcas in captivity, the American war machine, plus ample discussion on the benefits of Medicare for All.

Coup Save America

Coup Save America is a weekly talk show hosted by Sean St. Heart that plants the mental seeds of social change by inciting a politically progressive coup of knowledgeable citizens to challenge the status quo. Each episode focuses on a specific issue, featuring expert guests and interviews with the people who are most affected by the problems in our country. The show uses a sociological approach to raise awareness, ponder solutions, and consider the various perspectives. Coup Save America hopes to create an avenue for our nation to reach its potential for greatness! 

Coup Save America is a radically left-wing expose on America that uses facts, humor, and intellectual wit to expose the myths surrounding the great western democracy that exists only in the heavily propagandized lore of American history-i-fiction. Each show features in-depth analysis of America’s anti-democratic domestic and foreign policies, a breakdown of the week's news and events that are either ignored or misrepresented by western media, information on the latest crimes emerging from the district of corruption, coverage of the wars and global conflicts being waged unbeknownst to the America people, and a depressingly comedic rundown of the political insanity emanating from both the left and right-wing spectrum. 

Sean St. Heart avatar
Sean St. Heart
Show Host

    Sean St. Heart is a sociologist, philosopher, and staunch advocate for social justice who strives to give voice to the immense social issues and problems affecting our world. Sean is the co-founder and vice president of Charitable Humans, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-governmental organization working to advance the prospects for purposeful and systemic social change. In addition to his involvement with the nonprofit, Sean is also a freelance investigative journalist and talk radio show host who is passionate about exposing corruption and challenging the biased, and often corporate influenced, narratives which pollute the mainstream news and media ecosystem.