Following almost annihilating the world, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came closer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging civilization into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, over 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can people hate one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be allies or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to disaster. However, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn