‘After nearly annihilating the world, our families are allies’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came closer toward destruction than at any other point in modern times. This happened after a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world could watch almost as it happened as it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend