🔗 Share this article ‘After nearly destroying the planet, the relatives are allies’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives. In October 1962, humanity veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible stress. The Catastrophic Threat The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, casting civilization toward all-out ruination. The October crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity within their grasp. "What were the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest each other and confront one another?" "It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight." The Precipice Towards Catastrophe What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time. "Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth." The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope. A Different Viewpoint Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive." Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States." An Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope. "Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit." Modern Echoes with Present Perils Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn
In October 1962, humanity veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible stress. The Catastrophic Threat The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, casting civilization toward all-out ruination. The October crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity within their grasp. "What were the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest each other and confront one another?" "It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight." The Precipice Towards Catastrophe What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time. "Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth." The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope. A Different Viewpoint Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive." Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States." An Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope. "Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit." Modern Echoes with Present Perils Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn