‘After almost annihilating the world, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer to destruction than at any other point during modern times. This happened when a US surveillance plane identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, held the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can people detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present 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 symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn