Following nearly destroying the world, our relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Russian atomic weapon installations were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days filled with extreme anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to question: "How can people detest one another and confront one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged towards disaster. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn