Following nearly annihilating our world, our families have become friends’: the thrilling audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity came closer to destruction more so than ever in modern times. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting humanity toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is notable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend