Following nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer toward annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This transpired after an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was the United States planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals globally were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk our primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn