‘After almost annihilating our world, the families are friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world veered closer to destruction than at any other point during recent history. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting humanity toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a novel element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate one another and confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals can be friends or can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch nearly in real time while it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn