Following almost annihilating our world, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity into all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What was the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR 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.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp