🔗 Share this article Following nearly destroying our world, the families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives. In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension. An Catastrophic Danger The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward total destruction. The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs. For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals hate one another and go against each other?" "It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight." The Precipice of Catastrophe What is notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have obliterated our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth." The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism. The Divergent Viewpoint Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny." Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unprecedented Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress. "We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family." "However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat." Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn
In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension. An Catastrophic Danger The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward total destruction. The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands. "What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs. For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals hate one another and go against each other?" "It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight." The Precipice of Catastrophe What is notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised. "Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have obliterated our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth." The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism. The Divergent Viewpoint Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events. "You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny." Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America." A Unprecedented Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress. "We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family." "However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat." Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn