‘After nearly annihilating our world, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer to destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days of impossible tension.
An Unthinkable Danger
The threat was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting civilization toward total oblivion.
The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.
"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.
In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "How can nations hate each other and oppose each other?"
"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."
The Brink of Disaster
What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch nearly in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.
"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."
The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.
The Different Viewpoint
Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of events.
"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."
Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."
An Unprecedented Collaboration
This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.
"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."
Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers
Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn
