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

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer to destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest one another to the point they go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend