Following almost annihilating the planet, the relatives are friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever in recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a series of global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp