Following nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered nearer toward annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that people can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn