Following almost annihilating the planet, the relatives have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came closer toward annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This happened after a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting civilization into total destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to question: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn