‘After almost annihilating our world, the relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came nearer toward annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging mankind into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn