Following nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.
In October 1962, the world came nearer toward destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme stress.
The Catastrophic Threat
The peril was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out ruination.
The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.
"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.
In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"
"I am acutely aware how profound it is that humans can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."
The Brink of Disaster
What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it moved closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.
"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."
The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.
The Different Perspective
Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.
"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."
Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."
A Unprecedented Collaboration
The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.
"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."
"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."
Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils
Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn
