‘After almost destroying the planet, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This occurred after a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging humanity into total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel element to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

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

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest one another and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend