Kennedy and Khrushchev: 6. Kennedy’s move

Kennedy and Khrushchev: 6. Kennedy’s move

Author: BBC World Service January 5, 2026 Duration: 37:00

Pressure is building on President Kennedy to order a military strike on the newly discovered nuclear missile site on Cuba. But JFK wonders whether it’s better to keep the discovery a secret from Premier Khrushchev – for now. Meanwhile, the Washington press grows suspicious of all the late-night activity at the White House. This is the personal and political story of the Cuban Missile Crisis, told by NIna Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy.


From the BBC World Service, The Bomb is a history podcast that traces the profound and permanent shadow cast by atomic weapons. It goes beyond the familiar mushroom cloud to explore the human dramas that defined the nuclear age: the physicists in secret laboratories racing for a breakthrough, the clandestine networks of spies trading in ultimate secrets, and the world leaders who held the power of annihilation in their hands. The narrative builds across seasons, culminating in a gripping third season that places you inside the most dangerous confrontation in history. With the world on the brink during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the story is told through a remarkable personal lens by Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of the two men at the heart of the standoff. This podcast meticulously details how fear, ideology, and fragile diplomacy shaped our global reality, asking whether catastrophe can be averted when the stakes are the highest imaginable. Each episode is a layered examination of the decisions, both monumental and minute, that brought us to the edge and defined the precarious balance of power for decades to come.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 32

The Bomb
Podcast Episodes
Leo Szilard: The prologue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:57
“My grandfather in front of a mushroom cloud”. This is the story of why I wanted to know if the Bomb could have been stopped. Episode 1 available from 1 August. #thebomb