Following almost destroying our world, our families have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.
During October 1962, humanity came closer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This happened after a US surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible tension.
The Catastrophic Threat
The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting mankind into total ruination.
This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.
"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.
In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against one another?"
"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."
A Brink of Disaster
What’s striking about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.
"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."
The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.
The Different Perspective
Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.
"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."
Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."
An Unlikely Collaboration
The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.
"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."
"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."
Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils
Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend