Following almost destroying the planet, the families are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer toward destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate one another and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently 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."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept towards armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn