Following almost destroying the planet, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, plunging humanity into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "How can nations hate one another and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. However, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't 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 the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp