‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged nearer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian atomic weapon bases were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

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

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can people detest each other to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or can become complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike 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've fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to grasp