I couldn't stand to watch all that video, that guy is destroying perfectly good wood. The answer is simple "stain just say no" They don;t lie when they call it stain - that's exactly what it is. Wood comes in so many different colors, why stain? Just use a different species of wood.
I'm a big advocate of naturally finished woods, so I generally agree with you, Jeff. But you go a little too far. Stain has its place. For me oak is the best example -- natural, golden, provincial are a few of the options and provide great variety while maintaining the beauty of this wood. If the character of the wood isn't changed, I'm not offended if it's stained. One of the first pieces I did in black walnut, I used a black walnut stain to help make the color more even. It did that and, to me,completely ruined the wood. It sold quickly, but I like to think it was the carving that sold -- the wood lost all the life I wanted from black walnut and I'd have to be hard pressed to ever do it again. As usual, my advice would be to try any stain on a sizable piece before you commit you completed work to it and compare that to a natural finish. Stain hides first, any enhancement may be pure luck.
Also, there are many ways to stain (and dye) -- a blanket statement on stain just can't cover them all. Some are basically "natural", some are "paint". (I've personally vowed to never paint any wood again unless it's a fence post.) It's also important to recognize that many natural finishes inherently stain -- shellac comes in different shades because of this.
Along this line (and relevant to the topic), some woods like birch, cherry, even maple are likely to blotch whether finished naturally or stained. You need to find a way to "fill" and block the blotching, not try to "stain" and hide it.
And let's go back to what Jeff said: "Wood comes in so many different colors, why stain? Just use a different species of wood."