‘After almost destroying our world, the families are allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new element to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do nations detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

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

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp