‘After nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through books, movies, 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 co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp