Following nearly destroying our world, the relatives have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came closer toward destruction more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was almost a fortnight of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn