Following nearly destroying our world, the families are friends’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp