Following nearly destroying the planet, the relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and go against one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost as it happened as it edged towards disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend