Following nearly annihilating the planet, the relatives are allies’: a gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity came closer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly a fortnight of extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging civilization toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new perspective into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp