‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families are allies’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet came nearer to destruction than at any other point in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger was palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What were the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved towards catastrophe. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp