PDR 3.0: POD DIVER RADIO

**Launching POD DIVER RADIO 3.0: The Infocast in 2025**  I’m thrilled to announce the relaunch of POD DIVER RADIO in 2025! PDR 3.0 will be a fresh take on the podcast, exploring not only scuba diving but also military history, firearms, combat sports, space exploration, current events, and politics. I started POD DIVER RADIO in 2005, inspired by stories from veteran New Jersey and New York shipwreck divers while aboard the dive boat *Sea Lion*. It began as a way to preserve these incredible narratives as an oral history of our sport. Initially modeled after public service radio shows, the podcast featured hour-long interviews with key figures in technical diving. Now, with PDR 3.0, I’ll offer long-form discussions with experts across various fields while continuing to honor underwater exploration. Expect sound-rich "scene tours" from my dives and travels to significant sites.  I hope this new iteration resonates with both longtime fans and new listeners. For the podcast to thrive, it needs a wider audience—**please click, subscribe, and share with curious friends!**  Subscribe here: .    Let’s make PDR 3.0 a success! Thank you for your support!

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.

“Primer in Diving Physiology” Presented by: Capt. Marie Knafele USN MD ~ PhD NEDU Chief Medical Officer  NAUI TECHNICAL DIVING CONFERENCE 2000 Army Special Forces Underwater Operations School, Key West, Florida, US  November 01, 2000 Capt Knafele "Discusses oxygen toxicity, CO2 buildup, and technical diving." See the video at

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.