‘After almost annihilating our planet, our families have become allies’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger was palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend