‘After nearly destroying the planet, the relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase was almost a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel perspective to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to disaster. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn