‘After almost destroying our world, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind into total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people hate one another and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time while it edged closer to armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state 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 progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn