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

In October 1962, the planet came nearer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This occurred after a US surveillance plane discovered that Russian nuclear missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting mankind into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

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

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp