Following almost annihilating the world, the relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around the island. What followed constituted nearly two weeks of impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting mankind into all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented perspective to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans can be friends or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time while it edged towards disaster. However, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've sunk the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend