‘After almost annihilating our planet, our relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American surveillance plane found that Russian nuclear missile bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks filled with extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting humanity into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans can be friends or else can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn