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

In October 1962, the planet came nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This occurred when an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase was nearly a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting civilization into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn