Des Latham is a podcaster and media specialist.
You only live one life that you remember.
Live memorably.
About
1–2 minutes
66 responses to “About”
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Hi,
I am a big fan of the podcast, thanks so much for making them. It must take ages. I hope you are keeping busy during these strange times, I guess the flying is a bit limited. Anyway, I was wondering if it would be interesting to talk about the Air NZ crash at Mt Erebus. This has always fascinated me and I’d be keen to hear your account, as I do appreciate the detail that you give and I like the way you bring your experience to the story.
Looking forward to the next installment,Regards
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Hi Karen thank you for your words of support, much appreciated! I have been planning to cover this in the next few episodes – the Mt Erebus accident and attempts by some airline execs to “whitewash” the accident and the fact that CAA authorities were woefully ill prepared to probe it properly. The DC 10’s certificate of airworthiness was withdrawn and sightseeing flights to the Antarctic were halted. Interesting case. So thank you for the suggestion!
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Thanks Tagan hopefully they stop crashing …
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Hello! I have just found your podcast on spotify, and I love it. Please keep making episodes until there’s no more planes to crash. Thank you.
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Hello, i am in Ghana, West Africa and i recently stumbled upon your podcast on spotify (Plane Crash Diaries) and its one of the best things ever. I really like how you read and it makes it so easy to visualize your stories. Thank you so much and keep it up!!!
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Thanks Ernest!!
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Desmond
I urgently need a pilot for a SR22 – can you recommend anyone? -
How lucky am I to have happened upon your podcast here as a South African now living in Los Angeles. I am enjoying your podcasts and the history you are teaching me so much. I have shared links to your podcast to family and friends and will certainly do so as soon as I make more friends 🙂 .
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Thank you for your awesome ‘History of South Africa’ podcast. It is incredibly well researched and very gripping! There is a distinct lack of modern media on South Africa’s unique history. How cool would it be to turn this podcast into a documentary!
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WOW. Great podcast. Left review on ApplePodcast site. Five ⭐️ I’d like to suggest the crash involving golfer Payne Stewart in October 1999. Thank you!
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Found your podcasts a week ago and am already on episode 19. Very enjoyable and brought to life so vividly. Thank you!
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Thanks Nicollette!
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Hi.
I was a bit hesitant to pick this podcast as a frequent flier, but having enjoyed Des’s other podcasts so I gave it a go and was really impressed by the technical knowledge displayed along with the story telling ability to rival the likes of Herman Charles Bosman and Lourens can Der Post.
It is a fantastic listen and hearing about the safety improvements made it worthwhile.It would be interesting to hear about those crazy bush pilots and their escapades.
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Thank you George!!
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Sorry to take so long George! My approval didn’t reflect and I didn’t check. Apologies and thank you for the wonderful comment.
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Hi, I recently discover ‘Plane Crash Diaries’ and have binged them all over the last few days. Highly informative, very well presented and entertaining – if that’s a word that can be used in connection with air disasters! Sadly I’m not a pilot myself but have had the good fortune, through work (military and movie industry) to fly in a lot of interesting aircraft, mainly helicopters. One of the highlights was a few flights in an Mi24 Hind, in South Africa, before which, you’ll be delighted to hear, we received the most extensive safety brief I’ve ever heard on any subject!
Best regards and I’m moving on to The History of South Africa next…-
Thanks John! Movie industry? Are you a technical advisor by any chance?
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I’ve been an Armourer for 48 years now. I started with ten years in the Army, then as a civilian Armourer/Gunsmith including 20 years in the movies. We did a lot of the big WW2 jobs like Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and Fury. I also worked on Blackhawk Down and got to ride on a 160th SOAR Little Bird and the aforementioned Hind on Blood Diamond. A couple of trips in the Huey on Sahara were another memorable experience.
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Hey Des
I just stumbled into your last episode 151 Podcast. Found it so informative, such that i refuse to let the previous episodes to be missed. So late such that i decided to start from Episode 1 as am now officially retired and i have all the time. I am now on Ep 9
regards
Phumla-
I am honoured Ma’am, to have someone of your calibre listening. Thank you!
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Listening to the Anglo Boer war podcast. Brilliant and love the accent!
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Wow! That was taking a bit of a chance the accent bit, but so far the overwhelming response is positive. I actually spent time researching their voices, Rhodes for example had a soft and high toned voice, whereas De Wet was booming.
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Outstanding. Halfway through Stalingrad for the second time… Best account of it so far and I have read many of them, including Beavor 2x. Can’t wait to binge the Plane Crash Diaries, The Winter War, The Falklands War, and South Africa podcasts, next.
You’ve asked for suggestions: consider the Battle of Midway…so much to discuss there and so much (recent, new) interesting material.
Great to know you’re a fellow pilot, too. Says a lot about you. IYKYK… or more accurately, IYAAPYK.
Cheers. Thanks for the great work. Fly safe.
MM
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Hi Mike, I am so lucky to have fantastic listeners like you! Thank you for your comments and The Battle of Midway is something I’ve not considered. However coming from a fellow aviator, that is a really good idea! Thank you, off to collect research!
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After finding the Falklands War podcasts which were brilliant I’m now a long way into the History of South Africa. They’re great! Thanks for doing them.
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Hi Des. I love your podcasts. Thanks for recording them!
ps the link to email isn’t working ;(
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Ooh, that zone at the bottom is for my newsletter, I’ll have to update my blog – sorry about that – you can email me at desmondlatham@gmail.com
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Hi Des
I have always been interested in South African history which I thought I knew quite a bit about, until someone sent me the Spotify link to your podcast. I have a completely different view of our history and have referred this fantastic series to dozens of friends. Well done! Netflix series?
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Wow that’s a fantastic comment Peter, thank you!
There have been initial discussions with Netflix linked production houses but nothing tangible yet 🧐
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My son is 9, and he and I love listening to your podcast together! It was his idea to listen to something about plane crashes the night before we were to get on a plane ourselves. Not my first choice! But stumbling upon your trove of incredibly informative stories has actually helped me feel safer when I fly. We always learn a lot! Thank you so much!! Any stories about pilots on training flights would be most appreciated.
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Fantastic to hear this – the main reason behind the podcast series is to demystify the processes and also back up our sector. Thank you to your son deciding to listen to my podcast there are so many that cover aviation accidents! Commercial flight training is extremely safe, however the road to get to CPL and ATPL licensing is littered with stories of people who have tried to cut corners. Most of these are no longer with us and perhaps fortunately for passengers and their fellow aircrew, they took their final and terminal flights long before they had to chance to sit at the front of a proper airliner. Great suggestion! I’ll take a look at those after the next update which is about how a cigarette could have caused a major EgptAir disaster a few years ago, and a story about a drunk Aeroflot Captain who misread his instruments and crashed.
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Hi
Really enjoying your AB War and History of SA podcasts – how does one contact you directly to offer snippets of info for future episodes of the latter?
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hi Gil, I’ll send an email my contact details (phone) are on the signature. Thanks for your wonderful comment!
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Hi Desmond,
For the past month, I’ve been listening to your ‘History of South Africa’ podcast during my daily commute. As a 24-year-old South African now living in London I often miss home and your podcast serves as a kind of escape for me. It’s been incredibly eye-opening to learn about the vast, complex, and fascinating history of our beautiful country. I was excited to find out that new episodes are still being released and that I have about 120 episodes left to catch up to your most recent one.
Thank you for your work and for making this rich history accessible to us all.
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Thanks Cameron, what a wonderful message! Yes, just when I think we’ll jump ahead time wise, more fascinating moments pop up in our history. Please let me know if there’re any errors, I am trying to get the facts 100% correct which is quite a mission as you can imagine.
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Dear Desmond.
Hello,
My name is Diana Bowman.
For the past two years, I have been researching and writing an investigative historical novel regarding the bombing of Continental Airlines flight 11 on the 22nd of May 1962 that occurred over the Northern border of Unionville, Missouri and Centerville, Iowa.
Along with telling the most definitive story/timeline of the events surrounding Flight 11. I wanted to eulogize and celebrate the lives and achievements of those lost and to gather as many accounts /recollections of the relatives of those who were lost. Earlier this month I created a website to accompany the novel that features (and will be updated soon with some extracts) an online memorial to those lost (each memorial features a tribute/celebration of their lives along with a photograph). I’m intending on adding several other sections, including a visual/audio archive and a detailed reconstruction of the technical timeline of the flight path of Flight 11 from the departure in Chicago to the crash. There will also include an extract of a chapter regarding a hijacking that the destroyed airliner had been involved in the year prior. It was not only the first jetliner in history to be destroyed by a bomb, but also the first one to be hijacked. I have also had the opportunity to speak to many of the relatives of those lost, many of whom still deal with generational trauma more than 60 years after the event.
I have been for some time an active listener of the Plane Crash Diaries podcast and if you happened to be looking for a subject for a future episode of the podcast, the story of Flight 11 would be an Insightful and intriguing subject. If you have any questions for me regarding the novel and the website, please feel free to let me know. I have linked the website below, if you have any questions for me regarding the book or Flight 11, please do let me know.
Regards,
Diana.
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Thanks Diana I am honoured to hear from you and congratulations on your research. Let me contact you directly via your site and talk about this if we can. I would really appreciate your views.
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Hi Desmond.
Thank you for your reply, thank you for offer, Hope to hear from you soon.
-Diana.
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Hi Des, I am in the process of listening to your podcast on my 45min trip to work and back each day. I am loving it, having left South Africa 11 years ago, I was keen to learn more about my own birth country having landed on the shores of a land with similar, not the same but similar history which deepened my love of my own lands people and I needed more knowledge. Your podcast is deeply fulfilling and helping with the missing of home.
Thank you, thank you.
Regards,
Duane
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Hi Duane thank you for listening and for your wonderful comments. I wish you well in the distant land and safe travels.
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Hi Des
After listening to your History of South Africa series I am thoroughly enjoying the Anglo Boer War series which like the other, has trashed so mis-perceptions about so much. This morning I learned the other side of the story of Lord Baden-Powell. As a young boy doing scout training back in the “olden days” we were taught what an honourable gentleman he was.
You quote frequently from Deneys Reitz’s biography, Commando, which I loved. My son recently lent me the trilogy “Adrift on the Open Veldt” which incorporates Commando, Trekking on, and No Outspan, dealing with the balance of his incredible life. He achieved so much but other than the law firm which used to bear his name (now Norton Rose) few people have know of him. Its strange that he wasn’t “more famous.” https://www.parktownassociation.co.za/deneys-reitz/
Two others who had this ability to pack an incredible amount into lives, which repeatedly intersected, were Jan Smuts and Winston Churchill. They all have things they are famous for, but fitting in time for the little known, but time consuming stuff is impressive. Smuts was a barrister (I think QC) fluent in multiple languages including Greek. He only read the Bible in Greek. He was a renowned botanist with species named after him. It was only when I visited Churchill’s home, Chartwell, that I learned he was a very good and prolific artist, and was a good brick layer. Apparently he found bricklaying relaxing. He built the 3m high face brick wall around the rose garden. I read that a common diary entry went something like, “today I laid 200 bricks and wrote 2,000 words…” With everything else going on their lives, how did they achieve so much? (Among the exhibits in Chartwell is a small note from Winston Churchill’s father urging him to “get a real job.”)
Regards
Peter Dexter
10 Tewkesbury Crescent, Cotswold Downs, Hillcrest, 3610.
+27 (0) 82 905 3341 -
Dear Peter thank you for the thought provoking comment. I have been musing for some time whether or not to do a short series on Jan Smuts. Recently a Spanish military historian Tony Garcia completed a book on Botha and Smuts and reached out about a similar idea.
The extremely gifted Smuts who not only completed all the honours you could in a lifetime, but wrote a brilliant work of philosophy on holism, his idea. This philosophy continues to inspire students today.
All amazing considering he almost didn’t go to school! Being the younger son the right was granted his elder brother but that was rectified pretty swiftly once his above average intelligence began to impress.
Churchill too is one of the most remarkable people of any century, let alone the 20th. And to think he was almost shot on sight for having discarded dum-dum bullets during his capture! World history could very well have altered. What has inspired me to research and deliver these podcasts is a frustration with the simplified learning processes we’ve been forced to endure forever it seems. At school in the sixties and seventies I was completely out of place with the drivel we were being fed, although thankful for the classes in Latin.
My children on the other hand have been forced to endure Life Orientation as a subject, possibly one of the most useless additions to the curriculum since the pencil test.
Thanks again, be well
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A short series on Jan Smuts would extremely interesting. Imagine if we had leadership today with this level of intellect? I started out as a teacher but left as my definition of education differed from the government department of that name.
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Yes, my teachers mostly were fantastic – it was the history curriculum in particular that irked.
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Dear Peter
thank you for the thought provoking comment. I have been musing for some time whether or not to do a short series on Jan Smuts. Recently a Spanish military historian Tony Garcia completed a book on Botha and Smuts and reached out about a similar idea.The extremely gifted Smuts who not only completed all the honours you could in a lifetime, but wrote a brilliant work of philosophy on holism, his idea. This philosophy continues to inspire students today.
All amazing considering he almost didn’t go to school! Being the younger son the right was granted his elder brother but that was rectified pretty swiftly once his above average intelligence began to impress.
Churchill too is one of the most remarkable people of any century, let alone the 20th. And to think he was almost shot on sight for having discarded dum-dum bullets during his capture! World history could very well have altered. What has inspired me to research and deliver these podcasts is a frustration with the simplified learning processes we’ve been forced to endure forever it seems. At school in the sixties and seventies I was completely out of place with the drivel we were being fed, although thankful for the classes in Latin.
My children on the other hand have been forced to endure Life Orientation as a subject, possibly one of the most useless additions to the curriculum since the pencil test.
Hi Des,
I came across your podcast looking for one on the Falklands conflict as I have a soft spot for the Harrier. I appreciate how you put yours together and took great effort to explain the history from both sides for well balanced story telling.
To my delight I also see that you that you made one on the South African border war, which I am following now. As I did my internship with an synthetic oil company in Secunda, I have been in touch with colleague who served with the SADF in Angola and thus I am curious to learn about this.
Blyf so door gaan! Baie Dankie!
Groet,
Sander (Dutchman living in Canada)
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Thanks for the wonderful comment Sanders!
I’m charging through your podcasts in anticipation of an upcoming trip to Cape Town and I’m loving the depth of knowledge and detail. I’m hoping to learn enough to be competent enough to share condensed versions with my teenage kids. Keep up the amazing work, it is greatly appreciated!
Kind Regards, James
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Thanks for the comment James – drive safely!
Dear Des, Hope you’re well. I’m a huge fan of your podcast. I’ve reached out to you on Instagram, (DM). Regarding a tv series I’m developing. Hope to hear from you soon.
Kind regards,
Fabian Medea
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Thanks for the note Fabian and the support!
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Hi Fabian hope the series is progressing well!
Hi Des
I am 130 episodes deep in your “History of South Africa” podcast and thoroughly enjoying it. Looking forward to your Anglo Boer War podcast next!
Keep up the good work.
Regards
Norman Kerslake
PS: Perhaps one day you can do a Podcast on the origins of all the the town names of South Africa. It’s great having an image and story of the people that these towns are named after (for instance from your History of South Africa podcast Harrismith, Ladysmith, Lindley, Port Elizabeth and a few others come to mind and their stories are fascinating).
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Thanks for your supprt Norman. The place names idwa is an excellent suggestion. Been going through a few books about that recently 😀
Wonderful podcasts. Thank you for your passion in telling this important history.
Thank you for your awesome podcasr on South African history. I travel a lot for work and everytime i hit the long road i switch your podcast on. I am now just past episode 107 and its super interesting so far and I can’t wait for you to start expanding into the Lowveld.
Thank you for all the detail and effort you put into your work
Eben in Nelspruit
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Baie dankie Eben! Be safe on the road sir.
Hello Des,
a friend spoke very favorably about some border war podcasts on Spotify. Looking for them, I stumbled across your series about the boer war. Churchill has just escaped … I am hooked. Can’t wait to carry on listening! Full marks for your work sir!
In gratefulness and with kind regards,
Andreas
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Hi Andreas, I’m pleased that you find it useful, thank you for the wonderful comment!
Hey Des,
Firstly I want to say how much I’ve enjoyed your podcasts. Your series on the Boer War got me through many long drives! Journeys throughout KZN have become a lot more interesting. Your Stalingrad series led me on a WW2 reading quest as well. It’s funny how after listening to someone for so long, you feel like you know them fairly well – perhaps the reason for me reaching out with the following petition.
I’ve had an interest in history and storytelling ever since my grandfather told me the story of the Grosvenor and the fate of her castaways when I was a child. We are extremely fortunate to have a cottage close to the rocks where the ship foundered, and the story never left me. Over several years, I wrote my version of the story, and have since developed it into a podcast. It differs from your work in its style, so I understand if its not for you! However, if you do find the time to give it a listen, and enjoy its appeal, a mention on your show will go a long way.
I understand that this is advertising in nature, and something that I should be paying for. However, given that this is very much a passion project for me, i doubt that I would have the budget to cover that expense.
The show is called More Than A Story, you’ll find it on Apple or Spotify.
Thanks Des, keep inspiring us Africans.
Take care
Nic
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Hi Nic, thank you for listening and for spending time explaining about the Grosvenor. It so happens I’m about to do a presentation in Durban to a group interested in maritime issues, and the Grosvenor is part of the talk. You’re fortunate to have grown up with history at your door, there is a visceral sensation that comes with a realisation that we’re part of something much bigger. The smells and sights of the area are similar to what the survivors would have experienced, so you’re part of that tale in a way. I’m going to give More than a Story a full listen – thanks again Nic.
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Thanks Des. Our maritime history has had such an influence in shaping our country. Enjoy the talk as much as your audience will. It’s been great to connect. All the best.
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I found the discussion about the Grosvenor very interesting. I would be interested in attending your talk on maritime issues.
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Thanks Peter -I am chatting at the Maritime Law Association of South Africa annual conference, it’s not open as far as I know? Sorry but perhaps we can schedule something in the future. Any ideas where we could hold such a discussion? I live a couple of hours away from Cape Town but can commute.
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Hi Des…
Do you by any chance have history on the Thembu Nation and in particular of Western Thembuland?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards
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Hi Xhanti – here’s an excellent source https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1nzfzz6
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