‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed constituted almost two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What were the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can individuals hate each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people can be friends or can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to 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 progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp