Following almost destroying our planet, our families have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
In the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks of extreme tension.
An Catastrophic Threat
The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization toward all-out destruction.
This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.
"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.
For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest each other and confront each other?"
"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."
A Brink of Catastrophe
What is notable about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally could watch nearly in real time while it edged towards catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.
"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've sunk the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."
The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.
A Divergent Viewpoint
Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.
"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However 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 we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."
Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."
A Unlikely Collaboration
The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.
"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."
"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."
Modern Echoes and Present Perils
Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp
