‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic weapon installations were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase was almost a fortnight of extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element to the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be allies or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly in real time while it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've sunk the naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn