‘After almost destroying our planet, our relatives are friends’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, over 13 days, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

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

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," 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," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp