Following almost destroying the world, the families are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

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

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s striking regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed the naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn