‘After almost annihilating the planet, the families are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction more so than ever in modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified that Soviet nuclear missile installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger was clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging civilization toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest one another and confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn