‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly two weeks filled with impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do people detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend