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

In October 1962, the world came closer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of unbearable anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was obvious. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people can be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend