Richie Kohler: From U-869 to Titanic – Deep Wrecks, Dark Water & Dive Tech

In this extended Pod Diver Radio episode, host Joe Cocozza sits down in what feels like a private shipwreck museum—wreck diving legend Richie Kohler's own home. Surrounded by engine order telegraphs, compasses, wheels and a six-foot model of U-869, Richie traces a lifetime of hardcore wreck diving, artifact hunting, and the stories behind the gear pulled up from the bottom. Richie shares the inside story of his History Channel "Deep Sea Detectives" days and the ambitious expedition to RMS Titanic aboard the Russian research vessel Keldysh. He takes us into the cramped MIR sub, two and a half miles down, to "have lunch on Titanic" and search for never-before-seen wreckage that challenged old assumptions about how the ship broke apart and sank. We also geek out on tech: deep HID lighting in zero ambient light, the evolution from lantern-style halogen cans to compact HID systems, and what it's like to work with Woods Hole cameras and $80,000 deep-sea lights. Richie then pivots to Loch Ness, the Great Lakes, cave diving in Florida, CCR cave training, and his upcoming Dive Portal video magazine projects—from Blue Hole 400 ft dives to exotic and local destinations alike. If you're into wrecks, tech, history, and hard-earned experience from one of the most respected names in diving, this long-form conversation is pure gold.