‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world came closer to destruction than at any other point during recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The 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 in real time while it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend