Following nearly destroying our planet, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, casting humanity into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were the American side thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp