‘After almost destroying our world, our relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.
During the month of October 1962, the world came closer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. What followed was almost 14 days of impossible stress.
An Unthinkable Threat
The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.
The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.
"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.
In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they go against one another?"
"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."
The Precipice Towards Catastrophe
What is striking regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.
"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."
The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.
The Different Perspective
Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.
"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and positive."
Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."
An Unlikely Collaboration
The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.
"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."
"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades of 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 the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp