🔗 Share this article ‘After almost destroying the planet, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants. During October 1962, the world edged nearer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible tension. An Unthinkable Danger The peril was clear. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity toward all-out destruction. The October crisis has been examined extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp. "What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations. For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they confront one another?" "It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare." A Brink Towards Catastrophe What is striking regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept closer to armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time. "The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth." The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of events. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America." An Unprecedented Partnership The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress. "We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family." "However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat." Modern Echoes and Present Dangers Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp
During October 1962, the world edged nearer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible tension. An Unthinkable Danger The peril was clear. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity toward all-out destruction. The October crisis has been examined extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp. "What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations. For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they confront one another?" "It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare." A Brink Towards Catastrophe What is striking regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept closer to armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time. "The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth." The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of events. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America." An Unprecedented Partnership The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress. "We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family." "However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat." Modern Echoes and Present Dangers Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp