Following nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, casting mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals can be friends or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn