‘After nearly annihilating the planet, the families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet came closer toward annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is notable about this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

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

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp