‘After nearly annihilating our planet, the families have become allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet veered nearer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Russian atomic missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new element into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn