‘After almost destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting humanity into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to 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 optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp