Following almost destroying our world, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened after an American reconnaissance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost in real time while it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp