Following nearly annihilating the world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly a fortnight of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe almost in real time while it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp