‘After nearly annihilating the world, our families are allies’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed was nearly a fortnight filled with extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging civilization toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people detest each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is notable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp