‘After almost annihilating the world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet edged closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting civilization into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel element into the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp