‘After nearly annihilating the planet, the relatives are allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US surveillance plane found that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind into total destruction.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel dimension to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for 13 days, held the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What was the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp