Following nearly annihilating our world, the relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest each other and confront one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to disaster. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn