‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin more so than ever during modern times. This occurred when an American surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn