‘After nearly annihilating the world, our relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.
During October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired when a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days filled with impossible tension.
An Catastrophic Threat
The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging mankind toward total oblivion.
The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet within their grasp.
"What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.
In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can nations detest one another and confront each other?"
"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."
The Precipice of Disaster
What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.
"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."
The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.
The Divergent Perspective
Still, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.
"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or positive."
Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, 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 refrained from destroying America."
An Unlikely Collaboration
This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.
"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America 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’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."
Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils
Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn
