Summitry: Nutcracker

Step into the pressure cooker of Cold War diplomacy as we dissect the explosive 1961 Vienna Summit - a face-off between John F. Kennedy, America’s untested young president, and Nikita Khrushchev, the coarse and caustic Soviet leader hardened by years in Stalin’s shadow. These two leaders collided in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship. Kennedy sought to project strength; Khrushchev aimed to dominate. But beneath their polished façades lurked brittle egos, domestic pressures and fatal miscalculations.

Over two fraught days, their clash of personalities spiralled into a diplomatic disaster, setting the stage for the Cuban Missile Crisis and America’s plunge into Vietnam. This wasn’t just a summit - it was a tinderbox.

Why did talking nearly ignite a war? How did ego and insecurity rewrite the course of history? “Nutcracker” unpacks the perilous dance of power, revealing how the wrong words, at the wrong time, can push the world to the edge.

From Creating History - the team behind Creating Churchill - comes a gripping new season of high-stakes diplomacy, backroom negotiations and world-altering decisions.

This is Summitry.  Twelve episodes exploring pivotal meetings that shaped history.

When Hitler met Chamberlain. When Kennedy clashed with Khrushchev. When Bush and Blair stood shoulder to shoulder. When Trump had a shouting match with Zelenskyy... History isn’t just written - it’s negotiated.

Hosted by Russell Barnes and historian David Reynolds, Summitry takes you inside the rooms where power, pressure and politics collide. Each episode unpacks a defining diplomatic summit, revealing the human drama, strategic manoeuvring and lasting impacts of these encounters. Featuring expert analysis and rich historical context, this series pulls back the curtain on the meetings that changed the course of history.  Because when leaders meet, the world changes…

Follow the show at @Creating_Hist on X or Instagram, and send us your comments, voice notes and questions by email to: info@clearstory.co.uk

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Check out our first series Creating Churchill, also available wherever you get your podcasts: https://pod.link/1772845516

If you’d like to buy us or the team a coffee at Ko-Fi.com/creating_history, we’d be very grateful. https://ko-fi.com/creating_history

Creating History is hosted on Podbean, produced and edited by Russell Barnes, with music by Rich Farnsworth, digital marketing by Lee Mann, and sound engineering by Andrew Chappell.  Creating History is a ClearStory production. www.clearstory.co.uk