🔗 Share this article ‘After almost annihilating the planet, the families have become allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants. In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of impossible tension. An Unthinkable Threat The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out destruction. The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands. "What were the Kremlin considering? What were Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest one another to the point they confront one another?" "I am acutely aware how profound the fact that humans can be friends or else can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight." The Brink of Catastrophe What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet." The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened. "You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and positive." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America." An Unprecedented Partnership This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope. "We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat." Modern Parallels and Current Perils Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend
In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of impossible tension. An Unthinkable Threat The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out destruction. The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands. "What were the Kremlin considering? What were Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest one another to the point they confront one another?" "I am acutely aware how profound the fact that humans can be friends or else can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight." The Brink of Catastrophe What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet." The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened. "You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and positive." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America." An Unprecedented Partnership This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope. "We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat." Modern Parallels and Current Perils Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend