‘After nearly annihilating our world, the families are friends’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found that Russian atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend