🔗 Share this article ‘After nearly destroying the world, our relatives are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants. During October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was nearly a fortnight of impossible stress. The Catastrophic Threat The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization toward total ruination. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands. "What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they oppose each other?" "It struck me how profound the fact that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight." The Precipice Towards Catastrophe What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised. "Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism. A Different Viewpoint Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive." Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America." A Unlikely Partnership This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope. "We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family." "However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat." Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend
During October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was nearly a fortnight of impossible stress. The Catastrophic Threat The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization toward total ruination. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands. "What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they oppose each other?" "It struck me how profound the fact that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight." The Precipice Towards Catastrophe What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised. "Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism. A Different Viewpoint Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive." Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America." A Unlikely Partnership This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope. "We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family." "However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat." Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend