‘After almost annihilating our world, the families are allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity edged nearer to annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This happened after an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its attempt to question: "Why do individuals hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept towards armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp