‘After almost annihilating the planet, our families have become allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet came nearer toward ruin than at any other point in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost 14 days filled with unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting civilization toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp