‘After nearly destroying the planet, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity came nearer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly 14 days of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting humanity toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through books, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn