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

During October 1962, the planet came closer toward ruin than at any other point during recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s notable about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend