‘After nearly destroying our world, our families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging mankind toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But 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 things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp