Following almost annihilating our planet, the relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This happened after a US reconnaissance plane discovered that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks of impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging civilization into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was the American side thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp