Following nearly annihilating our world, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet veered closer to ruin more so than ever during recent history. This happened after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear missile installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days filled with unbearable anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were Washington planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

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

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've sunk the naval vessels and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend