‘After almost destroying the world, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or can become complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

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

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn