‘After nearly annihilating our world, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward ruin more so than ever in recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found that Russian nuclear missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks of unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn