Following nearly annihilating the planet, our families are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer to destruction than at any other point in recent history. This happened when an American surveillance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed was almost 14 days filled with impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe almost in real time while it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend