David Knowles, journalist who helped make Telegraph podcast Ukraine: The Latest a runaway success – obituary
September 11, 2024
David Knowles, journalist who helped make Telegraph podcast Ukraine: The Latest a runaway success – obituary
by TheTelegraph
26 comments
***Telegraph Obituaries writes:***
David Knowles, the journalist who has died aged 32, was known and cherished by a huge number of listeners all over the world for his dedicated work presenting the Telegraph’s award-winning Ukraine podcast; a naturally gifted broadcaster, he was a reassuringly authoritative presence who never pushed his own personality into the foreground, even though he felt deeply about the fate of the Ukrainian people.
Each episode would open with his clear and gentle tones: “I’m David Knowles, and this is Ukraine: The Latest.” He would introduce his fellow presenters, Telegraph colleagues Dominic Nicholls and Francis Dearnley, as well as special guests, and announce the dateline (“it’s Tuesday the 30th of July, two years and one hundred and sixty two days since the full-scale invasion began”) against the background of a quietly insistent percussive musical theme.
The podcast became a runaway hit – it is fast approaching 100 million downloads – prized by listeners (including senior players in the war) for the granular detail with which it illuminated day-to-day events in the Russia-Ukraine war, interviewing experts and hearing reports from the field. Knowles himself made four visits to Ukraine, one to Bucha, site of a notorious massacre, and another an aid visit to Kramatorsk.
Dominic Nicholls, the Telegraph’s Associate Editor (Defence), who was one of the regular experts on the podcast, said: “David asked relevant and sensible questions, never seeking a performative edge to his journalism – the story and the guest took centre stage, he just enabled their stories to reach the audience in the most effective ways.”
On the podcast announcing Knowles’s death Nicholls noted how the “listeners’ engagement and humanity amid such darkness” had brought Knowles “great joy”. Francis Dearnley added that “his listeners included ambassadors and the heads of US departments, but he never changed. He was utterly authentic and without ego.”
After news emerged of Knowles’s death from a suspected cardiac arrest, listeners began posting comments in droves, many recording their feelings that he had become “like a member of the family”.
The Telegraph’s editor Chris Evans said: “David was exuberant and innovative. He was passionate about the cause of the Ukrainian people and their attempts to repel the Russian aggressor. Without his enthusiasm, the Ukraine podcast would not have been half as successful. He was also a gentle, sensitive man who inspired deep affection among his colleagues.”
Still so strange, someone I had never met yet was such a huge part of my life for years now. David and his entire team inspired continually inspire me to do more than just listen to what they have to say. You will be missed.
Rest In Peace David.
Rest In Peace!
RIP David, you didn’t know me, but I felt that I knew you, some at least… I have heard your voice near daily for something over 2 years now, and I feel a lose at your departure from this realm. Also the sadness that you will miss the succesfull withdrawal of the Russians from Ukrainian territory, that must come otherwise a failure of the free world will occur. Your work did soo much to keep that fight in peoples hearts and minds. There is no future in failure. You have played a significant part in contributing to that success when it comes. Thankyou!
I’ve listened to 800+ episodes of the show. The news of his death really got to me.
Few people leave this world having made such a big impact as David has done. That counts for something.
Rest easy David. Love from Norway.
Thanks David for helping the Ukrainian people with your talents. Rest in peace.
Rest in peace, Mr. Knowles.
Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦
– 🇨🇦
I never listened to his podcast sadly, but what a great man. Rest easy, David. Truly an inspiration to reach for goodness, regardless of the cost.
RiP!
David didn’t just light the candle in the dark that we all wish for when darkness swallows us, he was a raging inferno of hope and justice that shadows fled from in terror.
Not all heroes carry guns. Thank you David Knowles, I will miss you.
Rest in Peace Mr Knowles, you will be missed!
The horrible news is here: there will be more good Ukrain people die. The only reason they die is because the alternative is more gruesomely.
So let us intensify our support for their cause.
“I started by asking Dom for the latest news from Ukraine…”. I will miss your opening words in every episode
Rest in Peace.
I’ve been listening to Ukraine The Latest since day 1. I got out of rehab 2 days after the war began. Listening to ukraine the latest was my daily treat while I navigated early recovery and sobriety.
I haven’t been able to listen to Ukraine the latest since the update on Monday. I never met david but he was a daily presence in my life for 2.6 years, and it feels like a profound loss.
Rest in peace, David. From M.S. Dublin Ireland
Waaaay too young.
Rest easy friend. We all loved you dearly even having never met you, and your legacy is in the best of hands with Roland, Dom, Francis, and all the rest of the devoted people behind so much important information. Ukraine the Latest not only kept me up to date on the happenings in the full scale invasion, but has given me so much in regards to my knowledge of Europe, and so much more. I owe that to David, we all do. I stand even more resolute in my support for Ukraine and will endeavor to spread David’s memory and work as long as I can. Slava Ukraini! Heroyam slava.
Rest easy friend. We all loved you dearly even having never met you, and your legacy is in the best of hands with Roland, Dom, Francis, and all the rest of the devoted people behind so much important information. Ukraine the Latest not only kept me up to date on the happenings in the full scale invasion, but has given me so much in regards to my knowledge of Europe, and so much more. I owe that to David, we all do. I stand even more resolute in my support for Ukraine and will endeavor to spread David’s memory and work as long as I can. Slava Ukraini! Heroyam slava.
He started what to me was the place for genuinely the best journalism in the world. Always to the point, factual, looking for the humanity in this war, always.
It was thorough, comprehensive, and above all human. Never losing the humans in this. I’ve genuinely been brought to tears from the reporting from David and everyone else on the podcast so many times. David’s voice was something I always expected to hear, up until this war was over and won, and it was his voice I associated with journalistic integrity and professionalism.
I yelled out “no” to myself hearing Dom tell the news when I put on the podcast before going to work, and realised why the episode just had the date as a title. Really sad and awful news that has stuck with me.
May his balance and message prevail! Peace unto his family and friends, many of whom he never knew he had!
Very sad to hear this. I listen to the podcast regularly and always catch up if I miss any. It’s true that voices become part of your “life”. I never knew the man, but his journalism has helped me understand this conflict in detail and I thank him posthumously for that. A fantastic legacy for a 32 year old, just very sad it’s cut short. RIP.
Very sad to hear this. I listen to the podcast regularly and always catch up if I miss any. It’s true that voices become part of your “life”. I never knew the man, but his journalism has helped me understand this conflict in detail and I thank him posthumously for that. A fantastic legacy for a 32 year old, just very sad it’s cut short. RIP.
This is such a shock. Poor Fella. Gutted
Absolute gratitude and respect to you David (and family) from Jackson, Michigan. You created something that millions of people enjoy daily. You will be missed.
I heard his voice almost every day since the invasion began, he was an extremely talented journalist and seemed like such a lovely person. He connected so well with anyone he interviewed. Rest in peace, David.
26 comments
***Telegraph Obituaries writes:***
David Knowles, the journalist who has died aged 32, was known and cherished by a huge number of listeners all over the world for his dedicated work presenting the Telegraph’s award-winning Ukraine podcast; a naturally gifted broadcaster, he was a reassuringly authoritative presence who never pushed his own personality into the foreground, even though he felt deeply about the fate of the Ukrainian people.
Each episode would open with his clear and gentle tones: “I’m David Knowles, and this is Ukraine: The Latest.” He would introduce his fellow presenters, Telegraph colleagues Dominic Nicholls and Francis Dearnley, as well as special guests, and announce the dateline (“it’s Tuesday the 30th of July, two years and one hundred and sixty two days since the full-scale invasion began”) against the background of a quietly insistent percussive musical theme.
The podcast became a runaway hit – it is fast approaching 100 million downloads – prized by listeners (including senior players in the war) for the granular detail with which it illuminated day-to-day events in the Russia-Ukraine war, interviewing experts and hearing reports from the field. Knowles himself made four visits to Ukraine, one to Bucha, site of a notorious massacre, and another an aid visit to Kramatorsk.
Dominic Nicholls, the Telegraph’s Associate Editor (Defence), who was one of the regular experts on the podcast, said: “David asked relevant and sensible questions, never seeking a performative edge to his journalism – the story and the guest took centre stage, he just enabled their stories to reach the audience in the most effective ways.”
On the podcast announcing Knowles’s death Nicholls noted how the “listeners’ engagement and humanity amid such darkness” had brought Knowles “great joy”. Francis Dearnley added that “his listeners included ambassadors and the heads of US departments, but he never changed. He was utterly authentic and without ego.”
After news emerged of Knowles’s death from a suspected cardiac arrest, listeners began posting comments in droves, many recording their feelings that he had become “like a member of the family”.
The Telegraph’s editor Chris Evans said: “David was exuberant and innovative. He was passionate about the cause of the Ukrainian people and their attempts to repel the Russian aggressor. Without his enthusiasm, the Ukraine podcast would not have been half as successful. He was also a gentle, sensitive man who inspired deep affection among his colleagues.”
**Read the full obituary:** [**https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/09/11/david-knowles-telegraph-ukraine-podcaster-died-obituary/**](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2024/09/11/david-knowles-telegraph-ukraine-podcaster-died-obituary/)
Still so strange, someone I had never met yet was such a huge part of my life for years now. David and his entire team inspired continually inspire me to do more than just listen to what they have to say. You will be missed.
Rest In Peace David.
Rest In Peace!
RIP David, you didn’t know me, but I felt that I knew you, some at least… I have heard your voice near daily for something over 2 years now, and I feel a lose at your departure from this realm. Also the sadness that you will miss the succesfull withdrawal of the Russians from Ukrainian territory, that must come otherwise a failure of the free world will occur. Your work did soo much to keep that fight in peoples hearts and minds. There is no future in failure. You have played a significant part in contributing to that success when it comes. Thankyou!
I’ve listened to 800+ episodes of the show. The news of his death really got to me.
Few people leave this world having made such a big impact as David has done. That counts for something.
Rest easy David. Love from Norway.
Thanks David for helping the Ukrainian people with your talents. Rest in peace.
Rest in peace, Mr. Knowles.
Slava Ukraini! 🇺🇦
– 🇨🇦
I never listened to his podcast sadly, but what a great man. Rest easy, David. Truly an inspiration to reach for goodness, regardless of the cost.
RiP!
David didn’t just light the candle in the dark that we all wish for when darkness swallows us, he was a raging inferno of hope and justice that shadows fled from in terror.
Not all heroes carry guns. Thank you David Knowles, I will miss you.
Rest in Peace Mr Knowles, you will be missed!
The horrible news is here: there will be more good Ukrain people die. The only reason they die is because the alternative is more gruesomely.
So let us intensify our support for their cause.
“I started by asking Dom for the latest news from Ukraine…”. I will miss your opening words in every episode
Rest in Peace.
I’ve been listening to Ukraine The Latest since day 1. I got out of rehab 2 days after the war began. Listening to ukraine the latest was my daily treat while I navigated early recovery and sobriety.
I haven’t been able to listen to Ukraine the latest since the update on Monday. I never met david but he was a daily presence in my life for 2.6 years, and it feels like a profound loss.
Rest in peace, David. From M.S. Dublin Ireland
Waaaay too young.
Rest easy friend. We all loved you dearly even having never met you, and your legacy is in the best of hands with Roland, Dom, Francis, and all the rest of the devoted people behind so much important information. Ukraine the Latest not only kept me up to date on the happenings in the full scale invasion, but has given me so much in regards to my knowledge of Europe, and so much more. I owe that to David, we all do. I stand even more resolute in my support for Ukraine and will endeavor to spread David’s memory and work as long as I can. Slava Ukraini! Heroyam slava.
Rest easy friend. We all loved you dearly even having never met you, and your legacy is in the best of hands with Roland, Dom, Francis, and all the rest of the devoted people behind so much important information. Ukraine the Latest not only kept me up to date on the happenings in the full scale invasion, but has given me so much in regards to my knowledge of Europe, and so much more. I owe that to David, we all do. I stand even more resolute in my support for Ukraine and will endeavor to spread David’s memory and work as long as I can. Slava Ukraini! Heroyam slava.
He started what to me was the place for genuinely the best journalism in the world. Always to the point, factual, looking for the humanity in this war, always.
It was thorough, comprehensive, and above all human. Never losing the humans in this. I’ve genuinely been brought to tears from the reporting from David and everyone else on the podcast so many times. David’s voice was something I always expected to hear, up until this war was over and won, and it was his voice I associated with journalistic integrity and professionalism.
I yelled out “no” to myself hearing Dom tell the news when I put on the podcast before going to work, and realised why the episode just had the date as a title. Really sad and awful news that has stuck with me.
May his balance and message prevail! Peace unto his family and friends, many of whom he never knew he had!
Very sad to hear this. I listen to the podcast regularly and always catch up if I miss any. It’s true that voices become part of your “life”. I never knew the man, but his journalism has helped me understand this conflict in detail and I thank him posthumously for that. A fantastic legacy for a 32 year old, just very sad it’s cut short. RIP.
Very sad to hear this. I listen to the podcast regularly and always catch up if I miss any. It’s true that voices become part of your “life”. I never knew the man, but his journalism has helped me understand this conflict in detail and I thank him posthumously for that. A fantastic legacy for a 32 year old, just very sad it’s cut short. RIP.
This is such a shock. Poor Fella. Gutted
Absolute gratitude and respect to you David (and family) from Jackson, Michigan. You created something that millions of people enjoy daily. You will be missed.
I heard his voice almost every day since the invasion began, he was an extremely talented journalist and seemed like such a lovely person. He connected so well with anyone he interviewed. Rest in peace, David.