Following almost destroying our world, our families have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn