‘After almost annihilating our world, the families have become allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity veered closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance plane identified that Russian atomic missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging civilization into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel dimension into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans can be friends or can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it crept closer to armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp