Following almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity veered closer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This happened after a US surveillance plane found that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or else can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost in real time while it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state 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 optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend