‘After nearly destroying the world, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered closer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft found that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was palpable. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn