Following nearly destroying our planet, the families have become allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet edged nearer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. What followed was almost a fortnight of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

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

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate each other and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly in real time while it moved closer to disaster. However, the risk of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp