Following nearly destroying our planet, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.
During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly 14 days filled with unbearable anxiety.
The Unthinkable Threat
The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting civilization into total destruction.
The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.
"What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.
For her, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate one another and confront one another?"
"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."
A Brink Towards Catastrophe
What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.
"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."
The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.
A Divergent Perspective
Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of events.
"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."
Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."
A Unprecedented Partnership
The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.
"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."
Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers
Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend
