The Great Dive Podcast

This week the boys talk about getting older and staying DIR. We all age, we will all eventually lose strength and fitness, but does that mean you become more or less capable underwater? Join Jamesy and Brando as they earn a little bit of wisdom and remember to, “Never miss an opportunity to Shut the F#@K up.”

Thankfully the Great Dive Podcast has gone back to their roots and abandoned "ye olde pirate bullshit"! This week the boys begin a discussion on the genesis and evolution of the DIR approach to diving. Sparked by UTD's Podcast where Ben Bos Gyldenvang interviews two diving legends in the DIR world, BIll Mee and Dan Volker, about the beginnings of DIR diving and the early days of the WKPP, the boys...

In honor of "Talk Like A Pirate Day", the boys retell the story of Roaring Dan Seavey. But what does this have to do with diving and diving instruction you aks? Well, you are going to have to listen to find out if there is anything to do with diving in this week's episode of The Great Dive Podcast!

This week the boys go deep, 50m deep, in Lake Michigan and discuss another deep air fatality. How long will it take for the scuba world to learn this lesson? There is a common thread amongst these deaths, they are not isolated occurrences.

A dropped fin upon exiting the water via ladder. What can something so simple and common teach us about ourselves as diving and how we dive? How we learn diving? How diving is taught? Join the boys as they discuss a short story and what can be learned through the lens of Human Factors In Diving. Have a listen!!

This week Jamesy and Brando go back in time to Jan 2026 to the Thunder Bay International Film Festival. Join us as we sit down with Cal Straub and Kathy Johnson and discuss some not so usual parts of diving the Great Lakes.

The Great Dive Podcast - Episode 473 - The Great Dive Podcast Is Not For Everyone by Brando & James

WARNING!! This podcast contains NAUGHTY language!! If your ears are too sensitive, if you are easily offended, if you need a safe space, if you are confused and require ridiculous pronouns to be used by people to address you, if you are thin skinned or just want to talk about pretty butterflies and rainbows then please find something else to listen to because this episode may hurt your feelings. T...

This week the boys get back to complaining. Not complaining themselves but have a conversation about it and what it's all worth. And Brando tells his favorite joke, but it has a moral to the story.

The boys sit down at the Thunder Bay International Film Festival with a few buys from the film showcasing Warfighter Scuba.

This week the boys read some listener feedback.... and continue whining. What are they whining about you ask? Have a listen and find out!!

Last week, Jamesy and Brando coined a new word in the TGDP Lexicon, Sculture. This week the boys dive deeper into that idea of scuba culture. Sculture, if you will. What are we doing? What do we believe in? Is the idea to certify as many humans as possible just to make money? Or should we be building something better?

Does (at least) part of the issue with Scuba education and practice lie in the culture of Scuba diving? Some aspects of our Scuba culture (Sculture) seem to promote quantity over quality. Whether it is certifications or depth, the emphasis seems to be on high numbers vs. high quality of the diver doing the dive. Agencies incentivize high numbers of certifications by awarding "Elite Instructor" sta...

James and Brando start talking about a recent weekend teaching the UTD Essentials class to a couple of scuba professionals. This class is hard, but not because of the difficult skills or impossible expectations. It’s hard because it requires humility and intention, rather than learning and doing random skills underwater. Check it out.

The boys wrap up International Cave Diving Month with some final words. What can the recreational diving community learn from the Cave Diving community? Have a listen!

What possibly could be the downside of focusing education on quantity vs focusing on the quality of the education? This week the boys explore the idea of a quantity vs. quality approach to educating the scuba world. Have a listen!

This week the boys sit down and talk about Jamesy’s recent visit to Florida for the NSS-CDS International Cave Diving Conference. So, I guess it is officially Cave Month. Ol’ Jamesy’s presentation was a philosophical look at the difference between cave diving and the rest of the scuba education.

The boys give their final thoughts on the Maldives Cave Diving Incident.

This week the boys take a week off from the Maldivian Death Cave, to bring you a special interview from this year’s Thunder Bay International Film Festival. Summer is heating up and Jamesy and Brando are busy living the scuba life. Enjoy these interviews with Andrew a Great Lakes boat captain and Kate from NOAA talking about the festival and why the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is so grea...

This week Jamesy and Brando join the discussion about what happened to the 5 Italian divers inside the Death Cave of the Maldives. But, we don’t want to continue speculating as much as we are trying to move this conversation along. This story is about more than just those 5 divers.

A recap of the past few months episodes and best of all.... NO QUACKING or HONKING! yes, you read that correctly.... there are no censoring beeps, quacks, honks or even Brando yapping about Manscaping. Just good old fashioned scuba diving talk! have a listen!

The Great Dive Podcast - Episode 458 - Good Divers Bad Decisions by Brando & James

The Great Dive Podcast - Episode 457 - DeadlyAOW2 by Brando & James

Only one kind of panic is worse than bee panic, and that's underwater panic! This week the boys discuss a readers letter regarding a recent incident where panic played a role in the dive but the reason for the panic was unknown. How does this effect the way we, as divers, address the very real possibility of panic underwater. Have a listen!

This week the boys discuss an email from a bloke out in Jolly Ol' England that tells the tale of what can happen when taking unfamiliar and novice diver on even what most divers would consider a "simple" dive. Would you spot the red flags in time to prevent an issue? Have a listen!!