‘After nearly destroying our planet, our families are allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer toward ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we connected really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp