‘After almost destroying our world, the families have become friends’: a gripping audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world came closer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging mankind toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate each other and confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend