‘After almost destroying the world, the families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer to destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred when an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

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

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp