‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives are allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This occurred when an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase was nearly 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals can be allies or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is notable about this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it crept towards disaster. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend