Following almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet veered nearer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic weapon installations were being built on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase was almost a fortnight of extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the American side thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch nearly in real time as it moved closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp