‘After nearly destroying the world, our families are allies’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet veered closer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were the United States planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate one another and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp