‘After nearly annihilating our world, our families are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity veered closer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do individuals hate each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost in real time while it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend