🔗 Share this article ‘After nearly destroying the world, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants. During the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed was nearly two weeks of extreme stress. An Catastrophic Threat The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What was the Russians planning? What was the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations. For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and oppose one another?" "It struck me how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight." The Precipice of Catastrophe What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than what most people realised. "The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope. The Different Viewpoint Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unlikely Partnership This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism. "We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat." Modern Parallels and Present Dangers Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn
During the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed was nearly two weeks of extreme stress. An Catastrophic Threat The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What was the Russians planning? What was the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations. For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and oppose one another?" "It struck me how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight." The Precipice of Catastrophe What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than what most people realised. "The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth." The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope. The Different Viewpoint Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unlikely Partnership This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism. "We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children." "But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat." Modern Parallels and Present Dangers Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn