Following nearly destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was almost two weeks filled with impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade involving worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, plunging civilization toward total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were Washington considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn