‘After almost destroying our world, the families are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear missile bases were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained clear. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind into total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign 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 Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp