Following nearly destroying our world, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can people detest one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe almost in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend