The Kennedy Curse - Part 3

About this episode

This episode explores the ongoing legacy and tragedies of the Kennedy family following the assassinations of John and Robert Kennedy.

The Kennedy Curse didn't end with the assassination of JFK - far from it! In this final episode of our Kennedy trilogy, we ask what happened after Camelot fell. With John F. Kennedy gone and Robert Kennedy gunned down just five years later, the dynasty’s hopes shifted once more — to the younger generation. Could the flame stay lit? Or was tragedy now woven into the Kennedy name itself? From Ted Kennedy and the shadow of Chappaquiddick, to Jackie’s controversial marriage to Aristotle Onassis, and the rise — and devastating fall — of John F. Kennedy Jr., this is the story of heirs burdened by expectation, fame, and a family legacy unlike any other. Plane crashes. Scandals. Political ambition. And one final, haunting echo of a mother’s warning: never fly your own plane. Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams explore the weight carried by the next generation — the pressure to redeem the past, the struggle to escape it, and the events that cemented the idea of a “Kennedy curse” in the public imagination. Is it fate? Is it recklessness? Or is it simply the peril of living so visibly, so ambitiously, and so publicly for over a century? Hosts: Robert Hardman and Professor Kate…

People in this episode

Hosts: Robert Hardman, Professor Kate Williams

Topics covered

• Kennedy family
• tragedy
• legacy
• political ambition
• public life
• family expectations

Keywords

• Kennedy curse
• Camelot
• Chappaquiddick
• plane crashes
• scandals
• family legacy
• public perception

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Daily Mail

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