🔗 Share this article ‘After nearly destroying our world, our relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants. In October 1962, the planet edged closer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with unbearable tension. The Unthinkable Danger The danger was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting humanity into total destruction. The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands. "What were the Soviet side considering? What were the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or else can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight." The Brink of Catastrophe What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people realised. "Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet." The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope. The Different Perspective Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny." Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States." A Unlikely Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress. "Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Present Perils Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend
In October 1962, the planet edged closer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with unbearable tension. The Unthinkable Danger The danger was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting humanity into total destruction. The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands. "What were the Soviet side considering? What were the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in global relations. In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or else can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight." The Brink of Catastrophe What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people realised. "Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet." The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope. The Different Perspective Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened. "As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny." Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States." A Unlikely Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress. "Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes and Present Perils Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend