Following almost destroying our world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This happened after an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting mankind toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn