‘After almost annihilating our planet, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer toward ruin more so than ever during modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series involving global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging humanity into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can nations hate each other to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to armageddon. However, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn