🔗 Share this article ‘After almost annihilating the world, the relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives. In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable stress. The Unthinkable Danger The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out oblivion. The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands. "What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs. In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they oppose one another?" "It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight." A Brink Towards Disaster What’s striking about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time. "Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth." The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope. The Divergent Viewpoint Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of what happened. "As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism. "Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Present Perils Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend
In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable stress. The Unthinkable Danger The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out oblivion. The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands. "What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs. In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they oppose one another?" "It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight." A Brink Towards Disaster What’s striking about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time. "Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth." The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope. The Divergent Viewpoint Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of what happened. "As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism. "Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Present Perils Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend