Following almost annihilating our world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.
In the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.
The Unthinkable Threat
The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging mankind toward all-out oblivion.
The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.
"What were the Soviet side considering? What was the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.
For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to question: "How can people hate one another and confront each other?"
"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that people can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."
The Brink of Catastrophe
What’s striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.
"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."
The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.
A Divergent Viewpoint
Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different picture of events.
"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine or positive."
Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."
A Unlikely Partnership
The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.
"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."
Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils
Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp
