Following nearly destroying the world, our families have become friends’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance plane discovered that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do people hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time while it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn