‘After nearly destroying the planet, the families have become allies’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting civilization toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men who, for 13 days, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

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

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals can be friends or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is striking regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend