‘After nearly destroying our planet, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged nearer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. This occurred when a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of unbearable anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can nations hate each other and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend