Following almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Russian atomic weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it edged towards disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn