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

In October 1962, the planet came nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, in books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the United States considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend