‘After almost destroying the world, the relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
In October 1962, the planet came closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed was almost 14 days filled with unbearable anxiety.
The Catastrophic Threat
The danger was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.
This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.
"What were the Russians considering? What were the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.
For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can nations hate each other to the point they go against one another?"
"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."
A Brink Towards Disaster
What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost in real time while it moved towards armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.
"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."
The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.
The Different Perspective
Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of events.
"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."
Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."
A Unlikely Partnership
The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.
"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."
"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."
Modern Parallels with Current Dangers
Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp