Following nearly annihilating the planet, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days filled with extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging mankind toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

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

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. However, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn