‘After almost destroying our planet, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet veered closer toward annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

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

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it crept closer to disaster. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend