‘After nearly annihilating the planet, the families are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging humanity into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What was Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people hate each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, 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 everything was always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn