‘After nearly annihilating the world, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, casting humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel element to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals detest one another and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max 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 involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is remarkable about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp