Following almost annihilating the world, the relatives have become allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. What followed was almost 14 days of extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do individuals hate one another and go against one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that humans can be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "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," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp