Following nearly annihilating our planet, the families are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and confront each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to disaster. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend