Following nearly destroying the world, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer to annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened after a US reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days of extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch almost as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp