About this episode

In this episode, Sarah and Brianna discuss the journey of Keiko the killer whale from captivity to Hollywood fame and its impact on 90s culture and activism.

Can a killer whale really jump that high? For kids of the 90s, the adventure movie Free Willy introduced us to magic of the orca through its charismatic megafauna star, Keiko. In part one of our series, deep sea correspondent Brianna Bowman tells Sarah about his journey from free marine mammal to imprisoned entertainer to Hollywood royalty. Together they discuss what Keiko meant to them as kids, 1990s whale-related activism, and the follies of anthropomorphic projection. Digressions include t...

People in this episode

Guest: Brianna Bowman

Topics covered

• killer whale
• Keiko
• Free Willy
• 1990s activism
• anthropomorphism

Keywords

• orca
• marine mammal
• entertainer
• Hollywood royalty

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Free Willy

Places: Hollywood

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• The Worst Movie Ever Made? with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson · March 13, 2026 · 1h 34m
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• Keiko Part 3 with Brianna Bowman · February 17, 2026 · 1h 18m

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