Following almost annihilating the planet, our relatives are friends’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point during recent history. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being built on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days of unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting humanity into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that people can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch nearly in real time as it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend