Following almost annihilating the planet, our families are friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed constituted almost two weeks of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can people detest one another and confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend