Following nearly destroying the world, our relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity veered nearer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US reconnaissance plane found that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a naval blockade around the island. The next phase was nearly two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging civilization toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through books, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest one another and go against one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe almost in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn