Following almost annihilating the world, the families have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through books, films, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations hate each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and an 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 fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend