Following nearly destroying the planet, our families are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity edged closer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that humans can be allies or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn