🔗 Share this article Following almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives. In the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks filled with impossible stress. The Catastrophic Danger The danger was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction. The October crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What was the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations. For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other to the point they oppose one another?" "I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare." A Brink Towards Disaster What’s remarkable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch almost as it happened as it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody realised. "The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth." The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unprecedented Collaboration This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism. "We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Current Dangers Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend
In the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks filled with impossible stress. The Catastrophic Danger The danger was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction. The October crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What was the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations. For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other to the point they oppose one another?" "I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare." A Brink Towards Disaster What’s remarkable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch almost as it happened as it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody realised. "The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth." The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unprecedented Collaboration This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism. "We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Current Dangers Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend