‘After almost destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger was clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in books, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, over two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can people hate one another and confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally were able to observe almost in real time while it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn