‘After nearly annihilating our planet, the relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it edged closer to armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp