Following nearly annihilating the world, the relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging mankind toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders that, for 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

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

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp