‘After almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet came nearer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred after a US surveillance plane discovered that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging civilization into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "Why do people detest each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable regarding this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend