‘After nearly destroying the planet, the families are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting mankind into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new element to the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What was the American side thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp