Pod Diver Radio: The Scuba-cast

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 as much leadership and mental toughness as it is underwater skill. We cover Navy Diver training, mission realities (ships husbandry, submarines, salvage, security operations), and the hard lessons that forged Rick's career plus the principles he wants every diver to remember: STOP • THINK • ACT and Never Ever Quit. If you're a scuba diver, tech diver, or current/former military, this episode is packed with motivation, history, and real-world dive culture. Featured: Rick Bettua Author of Breathe: A Survivor's Tale (Navy Master Diver stories + the events that led him to write the book) Order a copy of Rick's book at: h

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 contractor and finally saturation diver working worldwide. He explains how sat systems work, why divers spend 28+ days pressurized instead of bounce diving, and how an entire vessel—from cooks to life-support techs—exists to keep a handful of divers alive around the clock. João breaks down the pay and danger myths around saturation diving: which sectors actually pay well (North Sea, Norwegian, Dutch, UK), where safety slides (Gulf of Mexico, Persian Gulf, parts of Africa), and why some new divers quit after a single sat. He talks candidly about long hitches away from family, the psychological strain of living in a steel t

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 arms, clamps, and buoyancy to position lights precisely (and keep your rig neutral). If you shoot wrecks, reefs, or macro, this is a compact masterclass in getting better results underwater. Gear & topics mentioned Underwater video lights, high-CRI LEDs, color filters, domes/diffusers, arms & clamps, buoyancy floats, cable vs. onboard power, action cam vs. mirrorless rigs.

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 survivors work through PTSD. Brian explains how a week of simple, supported dives in the calm, deep waters of Dean's Blue Hole — combined with daily check-ins and recorded interviews — has led many participants from anxiety, insomnia, and even suicidal thoughts to feeling calmer, more present, and genuinely hopeful again. We also touch on why the underwater environment can be therapeutic, how pressure and weightlessness may affect the brain, and why the program now urgently needs sponsors, donors, and word-of-mouth support to bring more veterans to the Bahamas.

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 States, is about to create the largest artificial reef in the world. You'll hear the full story arc of the SS United States: from record-breaking transatlantic ocean liner, to asbestos-ridden "ghost ship" tied up in Philadelphia, to a carefully remediated, 1,000-foot artificial reef planned for ~180 feet of water in the Florida Panhandle. Alex breaks down the environmental cleanup, Coast Guard and EPA approvals, and $10.1M project budget, plus the nerve-wracking tow under the Walt Whitman Bridge and the final site selection about 21 miles offshore of Destin–Fort Walton Beach. Along the way, you'll also learn how Okaloosa

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 PBY being shot down, resulting in the loss of five crew members. After the crash, Lee and four other crew members survived for 2.5 days in a life raft before being rescued by the PBY navigated by Ensign Bill Cullen. #usnavy #battleofmidway #usmc #PBY #scubadiving #history #midwayisland #ww2 #usn #navalaviation

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 Japanese Aircraft Carriers. 

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 multiple reports that she was carrying gold and mixed coin worth $250,000 (in 1909 dollars) to be used as payroll for the US Navy's Great White Fleet. In addition to the US Navy coin-monies shipment, various sources reported on a much larger cargo, $3,000,000 in US gold Double Eagles. Among these, The Washington Post reported, "Three million dollars in gold coins lies in the rotting hulk of the White Star liner Republic, lost off Nantucket in January, 1909. Today, those coins would be worth a Billion Dollars. Captain Martin Bayerle discovered the wreck of the RMS Republic in 1981 and in 1987 he launched a salvage effort. I

Technical Free-diving and shooting underwater scene for AVITAR 2. Interview with Kirk Krack of Performance Free-diving. Kirk discusses the procedure, techniques, physics and physiology of technical free diving. Kirk also discusses how he used technical free to train actors for the underwater sequences in the new AVITAR Feature Film Download past Free-diving episodes with Kirk Krack here: 1.We go "in-depth" and discuss the philology, history and mindset to succeed in the sport of Free-diving 2.Intro to Free-diving with Kirk Krack

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 to attend goto:

Psycho-Motor Skills Discussion. Interview with Karl Shreeves. Karl is the Director of Training Development at PADI. We discuss psycho-motor skills and how that relates to teaching and performing scuba diving. Psychomotor skills refers to a wide range of actions involving physical movement related to conscious cognitive processing.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychomotor_learning

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 that others on the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish you for speaking up. - Just Culture is a concept related to systems thinking which emphasizes that mistakes are generally a product of faulty organizational cultures, rather than solely brought about by the person or persons directly involved. In a just culture, after an incident, the question asked is, "What went wrong?" rather than "Who caused the problem?". In Sept 2021 there will be the online For more info and how to attend goto:

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 functioning of technological systems as well as human-environment equilibria. The safety of diving operations can be improved by reducing the frequency of human error and the consequences when it does occur. Gareth wrote the seminal book on the this topic: Gareth's website is: Human Factors in Diving Conference is:

 The Philosophy of Technical Dive Instruction: a discussion We talk with Marissa Eckert and James Draker of Hidden World Diving about: standards, tech diving history, training agencies, cave diving, tech student problems, advanced buoyancy control, gas management, situational awareness and how different instructors teach. For more info about cave and tech training, goto their website. https://www.dive-caves.com/

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: To join the Optima CM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/267267033283934

Review of the Sidewinder and Sidekick Closed Circuit Rebreather Interview with Doug Ebersole (TDI CCR Instructor Trainer) about the two KISS Sidemounting CCRs For more info: Important UPDATE: Pod Diver Radio is now on Instagram. find us and follow us at @poddiver