Following almost annihilating our planet, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin more so than ever in recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting mankind into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can people detest each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn