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

During the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance plane found that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. The next phase was almost two weeks of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would have sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend