‘After nearly annihilating our world, the families are friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight of impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting humanity into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can people hate each other and confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people globally could watch nearly in real time while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp