‘After nearly destroying the planet, the families have become friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity came closer toward ruin more so than ever in recent history. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained clear. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate one another and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn