‘After nearly destroying the world, the relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet came closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian atomic missile sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "How can individuals hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 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," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp