‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives are allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity edged closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired after a US reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian nuclear missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was clear. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging humanity toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element into the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What was Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other and confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. However, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn