‘After almost annihilating the planet, our relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This occurred when a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Russian atomic missile sites were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging humanity into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp