‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer to destruction than at any other point in recent history. This happened after a US reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Russian atomic missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do nations detest one another and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp