Following almost annihilating the planet, our families have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging civilization into total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that individuals can be friends or can become total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through 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 learn