‘After nearly destroying the planet, our families have become allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity came nearer to annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear missile sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of unbearable stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting mankind toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest each other and confront one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend