‘After nearly annihilating our planet, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend