Following nearly destroying our world, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted almost two weeks of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous thing remains the involvement 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 side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend