Following almost destroying our world, the relatives are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
In October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred after an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable tension.
The Catastrophic Threat
The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series of worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging mankind into total oblivion.
The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel element to the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world in their hands.
"What were the Russians planning? What was Washington planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.
In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do people hate one another to the point they confront one another?"
"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people can be allies or can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."
The Precipice of Disaster
What is notable about this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.
"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."
The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.
The Different Viewpoint
Still, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.
"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine and sunny."
Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."
An Unprecedented Partnership
The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.
"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."
Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils
Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend