‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.
In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.
An Catastrophic Danger
The threat remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging mankind into total oblivion.
The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.
"What were the Russians thinking? What was the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.
For her, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they confront one another?"
"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."
A Brink of Catastrophe
What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. However, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people realised.
"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."
The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.
A Different Viewpoint
Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.
"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and positive."
Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."
A Unlikely Partnership
This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.
"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."
"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."
Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers
Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to learn
