‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives are allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer toward destruction more so than ever during modern times. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel perspective to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest one another and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people can be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. 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, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp