‘After almost annihilating our planet, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin than at any other point in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn