‘After almost annihilating the planet, the families are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly 14 days filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What were Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can people detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that people can be friends or else can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn