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

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was nearly a fortnight of unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting mankind into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What was Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What is remarkable about this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly in real time while it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp