‘After almost annihilating the world, the families have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world came closer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging humanity into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that humans can be friends or can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

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

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp