Following nearly destroying the world, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer to annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly two weeks of extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were Washington considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What is notable about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time while it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp