‘After nearly annihilating our world, our families have become allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred after an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was almost 14 days of extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to question: "Why do nations hate one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time while it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp