Following nearly destroying the planet, the families are allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet veered closer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This happened after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, casting humanity toward total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, for 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest each other and confront each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now 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 have the capacity to learn