🔗 Share this article Following almost annihilating the world, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants. During the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable stress. The Unthinkable Threat The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization into total ruination. The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet in their hands. "What were the Russians considering? What were the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs. In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against each other?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight." A Brink of Disaster What’s striking regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth." The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism. A Divergent Viewpoint Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America." An Unprecedented Collaboration The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States 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 sign of optimism. "Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit." Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp
During the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable stress. The Unthinkable Threat The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization into total ruination. The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet in their hands. "What were the Russians considering? What were the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs. In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against each other?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight." A Brink of Disaster What’s striking regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth." The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism. A Divergent Viewpoint Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America." An Unprecedented Collaboration The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States 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 sign of optimism. "Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit." Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp