Following almost destroying our planet, the relatives are friends’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn