Following almost destroying our world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world veered closer toward ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened after an American reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 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 a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend