Following almost annihilating our planet, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "Why do individuals detest each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time as it crept towards armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp