Following almost annihilating the world, the relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward destruction more so than ever during recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Russian atomic weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "Why do nations hate each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

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

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp