Following almost annihilating our world, the families are friends’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.
In October 1962, the planet came nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened after a US surveillance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of unbearable anxiety.
An Unthinkable Threat
The peril remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting civilization toward all-out destruction.
The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.
"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.
For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they go against each other?"
"It struck me how spectacular it is that people can be allies or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."
A Precipice Towards Disaster
What is striking about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.
"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."
The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.
A Different Perspective
Still, during those 13 days in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.
"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."
Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."
A Unlikely Collaboration
The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.
"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."
Modern Echoes with Current Dangers
Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn
