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

During October 1962, the world came nearer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. This occurred when an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the United States planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can nations hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages 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 because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp