🔗 Share this article Following almost annihilating the planet, our families are allies’: the thrilling audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives. In October 1962, the world came nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of impossible stress. An Unthinkable Danger The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging mankind into all-out ruination. The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp. "What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs. In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other to the point they oppose one another?" "It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare." The Precipice of Catastrophe What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet." The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny." Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States." An Unlikely Partnership This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism. "We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend
In October 1962, the world came nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of impossible stress. An Unthinkable Danger The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging mankind into all-out ruination. The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp. "What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs. In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other to the point they oppose one another?" "It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare." The Precipice of Catastrophe What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet." The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny." Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States." An Unlikely Partnership This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism. "We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend