‘After almost destroying our world, our families have become friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin than at any other point in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel perspective to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 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 prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend