‘After almost annihilating the planet, our families are allies’: the gripping audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This happened when a US surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element into the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most 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 many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp