‘After nearly destroying our world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people can be friends or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp