‘After nearly annihilating the world, the families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity came nearer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was almost 14 days of unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging civilization toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, held the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate one another and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it edged towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn