Following nearly destroying our planet, our families are allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can nations hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn