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

During October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward ruin than at any other point during recent history. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do people hate one another and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch almost in real time while it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp