‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction than at any other point in recent history. This transpired after a US reconnaissance plane found that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can nations hate one another and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But 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 fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend