Following almost annihilating our world, our families are friends’: a thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world veered nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was almost 14 days of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting mankind into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in books, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented perspective to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time while it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn