🔗 Share this article ‘After nearly destroying our planet, the relatives have become friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants. In the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with impossible stress. An Unthinkable Danger The threat was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting mankind toward total oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, for 13 days, held the fate of the world within their grasp. "What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs. For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest each other and confront one another?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight." The Brink of Disaster What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time. "The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth." The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of events. "You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny." Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of progress. "Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family." "However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit." Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend
In the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with impossible stress. An Unthinkable Danger The threat was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting mankind toward total oblivion. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, for 13 days, held the fate of the world within their grasp. "What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs. For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest each other and confront one another?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight." The Brink of Disaster What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time. "The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth." The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope. A Divergent Perspective Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of events. "You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny." Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of progress. "Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family." "However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit." Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend