Following almost destroying our planet, the relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet came closer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened after a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight of unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe nearly in real time while it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn