Following almost destroying our world, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when an American surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was nearly 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can people hate each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to learn