🔗 Share this article Following nearly annihilating our world, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants. In October 1962, the planet came nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension. An Unthinkable Danger The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging mankind into total oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp. "What were the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate one another to the point they oppose one another?" "It struck me how spectacular it is that people can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to fight." A Precipice Towards Catastrophe What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth." The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope. The Divergent Perspective Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events. "As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive." Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism. "Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family." "But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit." Modern Parallels and Current Perils Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend
In October 1962, the planet came nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension. An Unthinkable Danger The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging mankind into total oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp. "What were the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate one another to the point they oppose one another?" "It struck me how spectacular it is that people can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to fight." A Precipice Towards Catastrophe What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth." The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope. The Divergent Perspective Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events. "As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive." Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism. "Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family." "But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit." Modern Parallels and Current Perils Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend