Following almost destroying the planet, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were the American side thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp