‘After almost annihilating our planet, our relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world came closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane found that Russian atomic missile sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost 14 days filled with impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

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

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn