Following nearly destroying the world, the families have become friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do individuals detest one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

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

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn