‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, casting humanity into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and 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 optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn