‘After almost destroying the world, the families are friends’: the thrilling audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity came nearer to destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost 14 days of unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn