Following nearly annihilating the world, our relatives are allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. The next phase was nearly 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn