Following almost annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This occurred when a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian atomic weapon installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, casting civilization toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend