‘After almost annihilating the planet, the families have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp