Following almost destroying our world, the relatives are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity edged nearer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest each other and go against each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, 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, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide could watch almost in real time as it crept towards armageddon. However, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp