PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO

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 was the video engineer on the documentary crew of that expedition. The expedition was successful in targeting and excavating their target area, but failed to locate the gold, however. " A perfect landing at the wrong airport…" With new information all these years later, Captain Martin Bayerle finally thinks he knows where the gold is. With its current value, that cargo would be worth over a Billion Dollars. This is a story of shipwreck diving, history, international politics and a life long quest for treasure. In the summer of 2022, Captain Martin Bayerle returns to the site of the RMS Republic and we will be there with him.

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 freediver, and a technical freediver. We get into the hard physics and physiology: using nitrox and high-O₂ mixes on the surface to reduce decompression stress, accelerate surface intervals, extend bottom time, and build safer safety-diver protocols—while still managing the very real risks of oxygen toxicity and DCS in repetitive deep breath-hold profiles. Kirk shares field experience from Deja Blue safety operations, long scooter dives in Truk Lagoon, and over 250,000+ technical freedives on the set of Avatar: The Way of Water. If you're a tech diver, CCR diver, or advanced freediver curious about applying gas management, ppO₂ limits, and decompression thinking to breath-hold diving, this is your gateway episode into the world of technical freediving.

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: https://www.hf-in-diving-conference.com/

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 forces you to integrate brain, body, and nervous system in real time—and asks Carl how that same idea applies to scuba and technical diving. From there, they dive into what psychomotor skills actually are, why "muscle memory" lives in your nervous system (not your quads), and how complex dive procedures become automatic over time, like riding a bike or nailing your buoyancy without thinking about it. Carl breaks down: The difference between motor skills and motor procedures (finning vs. air-sharing vs. valve drills) Why young divers often pick up skills faster—and what really holds many adults back How aging, injuries, and rotator cuffs affect tech skills like shutdowns and why sidemount can be a smart adaptation The role of habit, attitude, and learning interference in both good and bad in-water behavior Why under stress you default to your habits, not your "plan," and how to build the right automatic responses They also touch on neuroplasticity, language learning, freediving, yoga-style breath control, and how all of that crosses over into being a better, safer diver and instructor. If you're a dive pro, tech diver, instructor, or just a training nerd who wants to understand how people actually learn skills—and why some skills stick while others don't—this episode will give you a fresh lens on both your own diving and how you teach it. 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 Human Factors in Diving Conference. For more info and how to attend goto: https://www.hf-in-diving-conference.com/

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: Under Pressure: Diving Deeper with Human Factors purchase on Amazon: Gareth's website is: https://www.thehumandiver.com/ The 2021 Human Factors in Diving Conference is: https://www.hf-in-diving-conference.com/