Following nearly annihilating the world, our relatives are allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged nearer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance plane found that Soviet atomic missile bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging humanity into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn