‘After almost destroying our world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world came nearer to annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost two weeks of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. If 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 followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp