From Lake Mead to Low Earth Orbit: DAN Safety, Desert Wrecks & NASA's Dive Lab

In this extended episode of Pod Diver Radio, we cover a lot of water. We kick off with a chat about training, cave plans, and knowing when to call a dive before an injury calls you. From there, we jump to New York City, where podcasting and media trends at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts meet grassroots scuba storytelling. The main feature is a deep-dive interview with Dan Orr, President & CEO of Divers Alert Network (DAN). Dan walks through how DAN began as a single emergency hotline, how today's medical and safety services work for divers worldwide, and why member support and research projects like Project Dive Exploration matter for every dive you make. We also hear about upcoming workshops on topics like asthma, diabetes, and remote decompression illness—and how those findings shape safer recreational and technical diving. Then we head underwater in unexpected places: Wrecks in the desert – Side-scan sonar hunter Greg Mikolajczyk talks about locating aircraft and boat wrecks in Lake Mead, including a remarkably preserved B-29 bomber in deep freshwater. NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Lab – Jack Stanton from Ocean Management Systems (OMS) explains how NASA's support divers train astronauts underwater, why OMS gear was selected for the NBL, and what it takes to run a six-million-gallon "space pool" with aerospace-level standards for gas, cleanliness, and equipment. Sprinkled throughout are shout-outs to local Northeast shops, tech gas fills, and ways you can support the show and the broader dive community. Whether you're a new diver, wreck junkie, or just fascinated by the overlap between space and sea, this episode has something to splash into.