Following nearly annihilating our world, our families are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight of impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What was Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn