Following almost destroying our world, the relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting civilization into total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest one another and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend