‘After nearly destroying our world, the families have become allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer to destruction than at any other point during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting civilization toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest each other to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is striking about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp