‘After almost destroying our world, our relatives are allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed was almost 14 days of unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting civilization into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented endlessly, in books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world could watch almost as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 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 before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend