Following nearly annihilating the planet, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet came closer toward ruin more so than ever during recent history. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new perspective into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can people hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is notable regarding this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide could watch nearly in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since 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 different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend