🔗 Share this article Following nearly destroying the world, our families are allies’: a thrilling audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives. In October 1962, the planet veered closer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase was almost a fortnight filled with impossible tension. The Catastrophic Threat The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting civilization into all-out ruination. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What were the Kremlin considering? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs. For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations hate each other and go against one another?" "It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals can be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare." The Precipice of Disaster What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost in real time while it edged towards disaster. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet." The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened. "You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America." An Unlikely Partnership The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism. "Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat." Modern Echoes with Current Perils Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn
In October 1962, the planet veered closer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase was almost a fortnight filled with impossible tension. The Catastrophic Threat The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting civilization into all-out ruination. The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What were the Kremlin considering? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs. For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations hate each other and go against one another?" "It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals can be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare." The Precipice of Disaster What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost in real time while it edged towards disaster. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet." The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened. "You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny." Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America." An Unlikely Partnership The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism. "Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family." "However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat." Modern Echoes with Current Perils Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn