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

During October 1962, humanity edged closer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around the island. What followed was almost 14 days of unbearable anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, casting mankind into total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans can be friends or else can become total enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend