Following almost destroying our world, the families are allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered closer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly two weeks of extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting humanity toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend