‘After nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world edged nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane found that Russian atomic missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained clear. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another and go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend