‘After almost annihilating the planet, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance plane discovered that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, over 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people can be friends or else can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, people globally could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have obliterated our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend