Following nearly destroying the world, the families have become allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened after a US reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost two weeks filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of global atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting humanity toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn