‘After almost destroying our world, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet came closer toward annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging mankind into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the American side thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals hate one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn