‘After nearly destroying the world, our relatives are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting civilization into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel dimension into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals detest one another and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that humans can be allies or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "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."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However 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, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn