‘After nearly destroying the world, our families are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting mankind into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards disaster. Even so, 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 an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend