Following nearly annihilating our world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity came nearer to ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging mankind into total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be friends or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp