Following nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies’: a thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving global atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp