Following almost annihilating the planet, the families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.
In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer toward ruin than at any other point during recent history. This occurred when a US reconnaissance plane found that Russian nuclear missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.
An Unthinkable Threat
The danger remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting civilization toward total destruction.
The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, over two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.
"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.
For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can people hate each other to the point they confront each other?"
"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals can be friends or can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."
A Brink of Disaster
What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.
"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."
The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.
A Divergent Viewpoint
Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.
"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."
Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."
An Unlikely Collaboration
This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.
"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."
Modern Parallels with Present Dangers
Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn