Following nearly annihilating the planet, the relatives have become allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What were the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp