Following nearly annihilating our planet, the families are allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.
During October 1962, humanity veered closer to ruin more so than ever during recent history. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of unbearable anxiety.
The Unthinkable Danger
The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out oblivion.
This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, through books, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.
"What was the Soviet side considering? What were the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.
In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate each other and oppose each other?"
"It struck me how remarkable it is that humans can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."
A Precipice of Disaster
What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged towards disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.
"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."
The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.
The Divergent Viewpoint
Still, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative version of events.
"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or positive."
Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."
An Unlikely Collaboration
This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact 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 progress.
"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."
"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."
Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers
Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp