‘After almost annihilating the planet, the relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward destruction more so than ever in recent history. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear missile installations were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can individuals hate one another and confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch almost as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp