🔗 Share this article Following almost annihilating the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives. In October 1962, humanity edged closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight of impossible tension. The Unthinkable Threat The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into total ruination. The October crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension into the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp. "What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations. For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other and go against one another?" "It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare." The Precipice of Catastrophe What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised. "Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of events. "As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held 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 Unlikely Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope. "We are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes with Present Perils Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn
In October 1962, humanity edged closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight of impossible tension. The Unthinkable Threat The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into total ruination. The October crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension into the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp. "What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations. For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other and go against one another?" "It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare." The Precipice of Catastrophe What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised. "Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of events. "As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held 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 Unlikely Collaboration This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope. "We are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit." Modern Echoes with Present Perils Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn