‘After almost annihilating the world, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new perspective to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that people can be allies or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp