‘After nearly destroying our world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
During October 1962, humanity came nearer to destruction than at any other point during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.
An Unthinkable Threat
The threat remained clear. If President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting mankind into total oblivion.
The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.
"What were the Kremlin considering? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.
In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "How can people hate one another to the point they go against each other?"
"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."
A Brink Towards Disaster
What is notable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.
"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."
The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.
A Different Viewpoint
Still, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.
"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful or sunny."
Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."
An Unprecedented Collaboration
The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.
"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."
Modern Echoes with Current Perils
Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn
