Divernet / ScubaDiverMag podcast suspending operations
Following the departure of Jay and Sarah from the podcast scene last September, it’s now Mark’s turn over at Divernet (ex ScubaDiverMag) to cease the production of his podcast, Scuba Diver Magazine. Mark Newman casually announced in this week’s episode that this would be the last episode “for a while” as the team doesn’t see enough of a return from the podcast compared to the amount of time it takes to actually produce the episodes.
Although it is very sad to see the scuba podcast world shrinking, it’s also not entirely surprising. Mark recently welcomed a child into his home1, naturally putting a strain on his availability.
In addition, for quite a while, the podcast production quality had been suffering. There are at least half a dozen episodes in the audio format of the show2 that were not edited at all, or very poorly edited, with 10-20s of dead air, only interrupted by rustling paper or mouse clicking as the host prepared the next take. Bad takes were left in, so you’d hear the same sentence 2-3 times.
While the podcast was a genuine authority as a source of news for anyone in love with scuba diving, it was also extremely UK-focused, and therefore at times quite narrow in scope. It was also really hard (nigh on impossible) to get in touch with the team to provide feedback or corrections on stories.
I’m definitely going to miss Mark’s weekly insights and news.
If you’re looking for other scuba-related podcasts, here’s what I’m currently subscribed to:
Speaking Sidemount: Steve Davis is a fantastic host, and he’s managed to secure brilliant guests to talk on his show. He’s an incredibly knowledgeable diver, but he’s also remarkably humble, and just lets his guests share the wealth of knowledge they have.
UTD Scuba Diving: I have a complicated relationship with this podcast. Jeff and Ben are undoubtedly first-class giants in the scuba world. While he only lives a few hours away from me, I haven’t had the chance to meet Ben yet, but I already know I’d trust him with my life. He most likely, would not trust me with his—and rightfully so.
So when there’s an episode of Ben’s Training Corner or The Most Obscure Questions in Scuba Diving, it is an absolute delight to learn from these champions. Sadly, the podcast is all-too-often a platform to push UTD’s coaching program, or for Jeff to talk about cycling. Maybe Jeff’s Carcasts episodes are for you; they usually aren’t for me.
The Dive Table: This is a podcast hosted by the same Jay and Sarah I mentioned earlier. They decided to end the podcast back in September 20243; however their backlog is still there and contains superb talks and interviews. They talked a lot more about stuff that doesn’t age, so I think a lot of content is still very relevant. The podcast’s website went down a few weeks ago, but you can still find the episodes on Spotify / Apple Podcasts / wherever you get your podcasts.
If you know of any shows worthy of a follow, please do share them with me—I’m always on the hunt for new scuba content!