Following almost destroying the planet, the families have become allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
In October 1962, the world edged closer to destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired after a US surveillance plane discovered that Russian atomic weapon sites were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable anxiety.
The Unthinkable Threat
The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out ruination.
The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.
"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.
For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and confront one another?"
"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals can be friends or can become total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."
A Precipice of Catastrophe
What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.
"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."
The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.
A Divergent Perspective
Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.
"As you mentioned 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 crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or sunny."
Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."
A Unprecedented Partnership
This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.
"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."
Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers
Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to grasp
