Following nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed was nearly two weeks of extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series of worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging civilization into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp