‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: a gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer to destruction than at any other point during modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, plunging civilization toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest one another to the point they go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be friends or can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is striking about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp