‘After almost annihilating our planet, our families are friends’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired when an American surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days filled with unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat was palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new perspective into the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was Washington planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What is striking about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. 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 grasp