Following almost destroying our world, our families are allies’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting humanity toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp