Following nearly destroying our planet, our relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came nearer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian atomic weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly two weeks of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting civilization toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. However, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to grasp