PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO

Cave Diver and diving journalist Joe Cocozza discusses the recent Maldives dive accident from the perspective of a technical diver and cave diver. This is not about exploiting tragedy or pretending we know every final detail before the official investigation is complete. It is about asking why obvious red flags in deep diving, cave diving, gas planning, training, equipment, and rescue readiness ne...

Joe Cocozza sits down with Dr. Nicholas Bird, hyperbaric physician, former Air Force flight surgeon, former DAN Chief Medical Officer, and current hyperbaric department leader at Virginia Mason in Seattle, for a deep discussion on hyperbaric medicine, diving injuries, and the expanding role of hyperbaric oxygen treatment. Dr. Bird explains how hyperbaric medicine applies to decompression illness,...

In this episode of Pod Diver TV, Joe Cocozza sits down with Luis of IANTD to tackle one of the biggest questions in modern scuba: what actually counts as technical diving today? From the early days of IAND and nitrox training to modern trimix, cave diving, decompression diving, and closed circuit rebreathers, this conversation breaks down how the definition of "tech diving" has evolved — and why d...

🧬🧪 Download audio podcast with Dr Vann about the science of HPNS: https://youtu.be/T9hUkwgKGfE?si=G3vH47Nn5No-wb8O 📚 Recommended Reading: The Physiology and Medicine of Diving – Bennett & Elliott The Terrible Hours – Peter Maas U.S. Navy Diving Manual (Rev. 7) 👥 Featured in This Episode: Joe Cocozza – Tech Diver, Underwater Videographer, Host Terrence Tysall – NAUI Worldwide Director of Traini...

Retired Master Chief Petty Officer and U.S. Navy Master Diver Rick Bettua joins Joe Cocozza on Pod Diver TV for a powerful, story-driven interview about what it takes to become a Navy Diver and the mindset that keeps you alive when everything goes sideways. Rick shares how a Super Bowl halftime "Navy Divers" ad sparked his dream, how he literally got himself to dive school, and why Navy diving is...

Using the toilet can kill you… at least if you're living for weeks inside a saturation chamber. In this Pod Diver TV episode, Joe Cocozza sits down in Lisbon, Portugal with former Portuguese Marine and commercial saturation diver João Rainho to unpack what life is really like as a sat diver. João walks us through his path from spearfishing Marine to IMCA-certified commercial diver, North Sea contr...

Join me on the show floor at DEMA for two rapid-fire interviews on underwater lighting for videography. We talk beam quality, color accuracy, CRI/TLCI, wide vs. spot beams, diffusion, battery management, burn times, mounting, and how to build a travel-friendly rig that still looks cinematic. First up is Keldan on color science, filters, and matching ambient light; then Ultralight walks through arm...

In this special episode, host Joe Cocozza sits down with veteran cave explorer and former Navy diver Brian Kakuk to talk about a remarkable PTSD program based at Dean's Blue Hole on Long Island in the Bahamas. The nonprofit, founded by Brian's friend Kevin James, is called PTSD – Progress Through Scuba Diving, and it uses guided scuba dives as a powerful tool to help veterans and other trauma surv...

Episode 234 of PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO, host Joe Cocozza takes you to the show floor at DEMA in Orlando for a live presentation by Alex Fogg, Chief of the Okaloosa County Natural Resources team. Alex walks us through how Destin–Fort Walton Beach, Florida has turned decommissioned vessels into a world-class artificial reef program—and why their newest project, sinking the legendary SS United State...

The Battle of Midway: PBY Aviator Interviews Interviews were conducted with LtCmdr Lee McLeary USNR and LtCmdr Bill Cullen USNR, who served as pilot-navigators onboard PBYs Flying Boats during the Battle of Midway. These interviews took place in 1999 on Midway Island, during a reunion of Battle of Midway veterans. Ensign Lee McLeary, who was 21 at the time, shared the harrowing experience of his P...

BATTLE OF MIDWAY: June 4, 1942. The Battle of Midway was the seminal naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It was a battle between US Navy and Japanese Aircraft Carriers for control on the Midway Atoll 1100 miles west of Hawaii. In June of 1999, I was on the island for a reunion of battle veterans. I got to interview Cmdr Dick Best. Cmdr Best was a Dive Bomber pilot who sank two of...

The RMS Republic: The Billion dollar Shipwreck of GOLD The Backstory: The RMS Republic was a White Star Line steam-powered ocean liner built in 1903. In early morning of 23 January 1909, while sailing from New York City to Gibraltar, the Republic was in a collision with SS Florida in 1909 in which she sank in 270 feet of water aprox 70 miles off of Martha's Vineyard. At the time there where multip...

From Truk to Pandora: Kirk Krack on Tech Freediving & Avatar A sit down with Performance Freediving International founder Kirk Krack to unpack the emerging discipline of technical freediving. Kirk explains how PFI's partnership with TDI/SDI fits into the broader "all things diving" ecosystem, then dives deep into what truly separates a snorkeler, recreational freediver, spearfisher, competitive fr...

Sep 11th 20th Anniversary Episode. Joe and Arielle talk about their recollections from the events of that day. We would like all listeners to share their stories as well. Leave comments, send us an email or an audio file.

Human Factors in Diving: Part 3 "Reducing Error Producing Conditions." We wrap up our Human Factors discussion with Gareth Lock. We discuss error producing conditions, network influence mapping and how to improve learning from incidents. We also preview the upcoming Human Factors in Diving Conference. In Sept 2021 there will be the online Human Factors in Diving Conference. For more info and how t...

On this episode of Pod Diver Radio, host Joe Cocozza sits down with longtime friend, cave diving buddy, and PADI big brain Karl Shreeves, Training Director at the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), to unpack a topic that underpins everything we do underwater: psychomotor skills in diving. Joe kicks things off by comparing his time on the BJJ mat to time underwater—how jiu jitsu...

Human Factors in Diving Psychological Safety and Just Culture: Gareth Lock, author of the book "The Human Diver" talks about the two key concepts in dive safety analysis. Psychological safety and just culture. - Psychological Safety is the belief that you won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. It's a shared belief held by members of a team tha...

Human Factors in Diving Part 1: An Introduction Gareth Lock is a retired RAF officer and dive educator who is the Director of "The Human Diver". This is an organization that's mission is to improve the safety and performance of divers thru the study of Human Factors. Human Factors are the physical or cognitive properties of individuals, or social behavior which is specific to humans, and influence...

The Philosophy of Technical Dive Instruction: a discussion In this episode of Pod Diver Radio, host Joe Cocozza sits down with James and Marissa from Hidden Worlds Diving to dig into the philosophy behind modern technical and cave diver training. This isn't a gear-review show—it's a deep dive into how tech divers are made, not just certified. From their early days learning directly from the pionee...

Interview with Shawn Clark about how he overcame the challenges of Cave Diving when he only has one leg.

TRAINING on the OPTIMA CM: Chest Mounted CCR: PART-2 Training report on the CM w/ Lamar Hires of Dive Rite. On location at Blue Grotto Dive resort in Williston FL. For more info check out: https://www.diverite.com/products/uncategorized/o2ptima-cm/ To join the Optima CM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/267267033283934

TRAINING on the OPTIMA CM: Chest Mounted CCR PART-1 Training report on the CM w/ Jared Hires of Dive Rite. On location at Royal Springs FL. For more info check out: https://www.diverite.com/products/uncategorized/o2ptima-cm/ To join the Optima CM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/267267033283934

Sidemount + rebreathers = the modern cave diver's playground. In this episode, Joe sits down with cardiologist, tech instructor, and KISS instructor trainer Dr. Doug Ebersole to unpack the design, history, and real-world use of KISS's two sidemount rebreathers: the Sidekick and the Sidewinder. Doug walks through how the original Sidekick evolved from a semi-closed cave exploration tool into a full...

Broadcast from High Springs in the heart of North Florida cave country, this episode of Pod Diver Radio goes deep into cave diving etiquette, culture, and how tech training has changed over the last few decades. Joe sits down with his original cave instructor, Terrence Tysall – now NAUI's Director of Training and VP of Operations, Cambrian Foundation co-founder, former Texas A&M DSO, and long-time...

Interview with Cardiologist Doug Ebersole MD talks about PFOs (Patent Foramen Ovale) which is a suspected risk factor for DCS (Decompression Sickness). PFO is a relatively benign cardiac defect that creates a passage in a wall that normally separates the left and right upper chambers of the heart. PFO is found in about 25 percent of adults. If gas bubbles form after a dive, the venous bloodstream...