‘After almost destroying our world, the families are allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What was the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, with Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp