‘After almost annihilating the world, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was Washington planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or else can become complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp