Following nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity edged closer toward destruction more so than ever in recent history. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was almost two weeks filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, over 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch almost as it happened while it moved closer to armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn