🔗 Share this article ‘After almost destroying our planet, the families have become allies’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives. In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer toward destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft found that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of extreme anxiety. An Catastrophic Threat The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, casting humanity into all-out ruination. This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders who, for 13 days, held the fate of humanity in their hands. "What was the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs. For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other and oppose one another?" "It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight." A Brink of Disaster What’s remarkable about this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged towards disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time. "The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have obliterated the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth." The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope. A Divergent Viewpoint Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine and positive." Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America." A Unlikely Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress. "Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Present Perils Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in 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 grasp
In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer toward destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft found that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of extreme anxiety. An Catastrophic Threat The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, casting humanity into all-out ruination. This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders who, for 13 days, held the fate of humanity in their hands. "What was the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs. For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other and oppose one another?" "It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight." A Brink of Disaster What’s remarkable about this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged towards disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time. "The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have obliterated the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth." The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope. A Divergent Viewpoint Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine and positive." Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America." A Unlikely Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress. "Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Present Perils Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in 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 grasp