Following nearly destroying our world, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft found that Soviet atomic weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting humanity into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, over 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What was the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations hate each other and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people can be friends or else can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost in real time as it moved closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp