Following almost annihilating our planet, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were under construction on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted almost two weeks of unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging mankind toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element to the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards disaster. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend