🔗 Share this article Following nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives. During October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point in modern times. This occurred when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with extreme tension. An Catastrophic Danger The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind toward all-out oblivion. The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands. "What was the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they confront one another?" "I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that individuals can be friends or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight." A Precipice Towards Disaster What is striking regarding this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised. "Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of events. "You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful and sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States." An Unprecedented Collaboration This podcast is so even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress. "We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family." "But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat." Modern Parallels and Present Perils Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn
During October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point in modern times. This occurred when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with extreme tension. An Catastrophic Danger The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind toward all-out oblivion. The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands. "What was the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations. In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they confront one another?" "I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that individuals can be friends or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight." A Precipice Towards Disaster What is striking regarding this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised. "Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of events. "You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful and sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States." An Unprecedented Collaboration This podcast is so even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress. "We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family." "But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat." Modern Parallels and Present Perils Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn