‘After almost destroying the world, our relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet came nearer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through books, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp