Following nearly destroying the planet, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world came closer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight of extreme anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do people hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch almost in real time while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn