‘After nearly annihilating our world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.
During the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear missile bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible tension.
An Unthinkable Threat
The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward total destruction.
The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet within their grasp.
"What were the Russians thinking? What was Washington planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.
For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can people detest one another to the point they go against each other?"
"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."
The Brink Towards Disaster
What is notable regarding this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe almost in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.
"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."
The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.
A Divergent Viewpoint
Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of events.
"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."
Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."
An Unlikely Collaboration
The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.
"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."
Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers
Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp