‘After nearly annihilating the world, our relatives are allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world came closer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to question: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans can be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he 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 really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp