Following almost annihilating the world, the families have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet edged nearer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened after an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight of extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend