‘After almost destroying the world, our families have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost in real time while it crept towards disaster. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn