Following almost annihilating our world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered closer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic weapon bases were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost two weeks of unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch nearly as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn