Following almost annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer to annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting mankind into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel dimension to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"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 Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend