‘After almost destroying the planet, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with unbearable stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting humanity toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they go against one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend