Nigel Latta
New Zealand psychologist and broadcaster (1967–2025)
- 2 min read
- 4 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Psychology
Early life
Nigel Raymond Latta was born and raised in Oamaru, New Zealand. His father was a builder and his mother was a housewife. He attended Waitaki Boys' High School, and briefly considered becoming a police officer. When he was young he toured the South Island as part of a skiffle band.
Latta studied marine science and zoology at the University of Otago, and completed a Master of Philosophy with First Class Honours in psychology at the University of Auckland, along with a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology.
Sign in to keep reading
3 more chapters are free with a Lably account.
Career
The first book that Latta wrote was a novel called Execution Lullaby. Although the novel was well-received, his publisher believed that Latta would be more successful if he wrote non-fiction books. In 2003, he wrote Into the Darklands: Unveiling the Predators Among Us, a book that examined the psychology of criminals. The book inspired the TVNZ series Beyond the Darklands. He also wrote books about parenting advice and gave advice during the parenting segment of Radio New Zealand's This Way Up.
Latta worked as a consultant in his field for private companies and government social service agencies, including Department of Corrections, the New Zealand Police and Child Youth and Family.
In the 2010s, he became known for his true crime documentaries and psychology-based television series, as the host of Beyond the Darklands, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Teenagers, The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show, and a science show called Nigel Latta Blows Stuff Up, among others. In 2016, Latta co-founded Ruckus Films, a production company which produced several feature documentaries including Born This Way: Awa's Story and Stan. He also began presenting general interest television shows, such as The Hard Stuff with Nigel Latta, which approached social and political issues, and You've Been Scammed by Nigel Latta which examines common types of scams.
Personal life
Latta had two children from his first marriage. In 2023 he married Natalie Flynn, a fellow psychologist, and was step parent to her three children.
Illness and death
In September 2024, Latta revealed that he had been diagnosed with "inoperable and incurable" terminal stomach cancer, and that he was undergoing chemotherapy that had shrunk the tumour by about 60 percent. Latta was told that he had 6 to 12 months to live. In February 2025, the prognosis was reduced to four weeks after a scan indicated that the cancer had spread to his lungs. However, Latta later said that, because of the treatment he was receiving, he believed he would continue to live for "years and years". In March 2025, he stated that he was no longer terminally ill.
Latta died at a hospice in the Auckland suburb of Ponsonby on 30 September 2025, at the age of 58.
Honours
Latta was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours, for services to psychology.