‘After almost destroying our planet, the relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through books, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

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

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend