Following nearly destroying the world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This transpired after an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting humanity into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the American side thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or else 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 when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've sunk our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp