🔗 Share this article Following nearly destroying our world, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants. In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable stress. An Unthinkable Danger The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion. The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands. "What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations. For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can people detest one another and go against each other?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight." The Brink of Disaster What’s striking about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people realised. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth." The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope. "We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family." "But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat." Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend
In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable stress. An Unthinkable Danger The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion. The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands. "What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations. For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can people detest one another and go against each other?" "It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight." The Brink of Disaster What’s striking about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people realised. "Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth." The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism. The Divergent Perspective Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened. "As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny." Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States." A Unlikely Collaboration The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope. "We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family." "But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat." Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend