Following nearly annihilating the world, the families are allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer to ruin more so than ever during recent history. This occurred when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase was almost 14 days of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through books, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn