‘After nearly destroying our world, our relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer to ruin more so than ever during recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it crept closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living 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 be able to grasp