‘After almost destroying our world, our families have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity edged nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through 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. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals can be friends or else can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp