‘After nearly destroying the world, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet came closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do people hate one another to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch nearly in real time while it edged closer to disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp