‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired when a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being built on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained clear. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series of global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and 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 hope.

"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend