Following nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet edged closer to ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging mankind toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn