‘After almost destroying our planet, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around the island. What followed was nearly 14 days filled with extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging civilization toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest one another and confront one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged towards disaster. However, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend