🔗 Share this article Following nearly destroying the world, our families have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives. During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of extreme stress. The Unthinkable Danger The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward total oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp. "What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they confront one another?" "I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare." A Precipice Towards Catastrophe What’s striking about this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth." The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope. A Different Viewpoint Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny." Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America." A Unlikely Partnership This podcast is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism. "Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family." "But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Parallels with Present Dangers Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp
During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of extreme stress. The Unthinkable Danger The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward total oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp. "What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they confront one another?" "I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare." A Precipice Towards Catastrophe What’s striking about this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth." The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope. A Different Viewpoint Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny." Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America." A Unlikely Partnership This podcast is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism. "Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family." "But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Parallels with Present Dangers Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp