Following nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Russian atomic missile bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed was almost two weeks of impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, casting civilization toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe almost in real time as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn