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

In October 1962, humanity edged closer to annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with unbearable stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What was the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide could watch almost in real time while it moved closer to disaster. However, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn