‘After almost destroying our planet, our families have become allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals globally were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend