Following nearly destroying our planet, our families are friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened after a US surveillance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. The next phase was almost two weeks of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind into all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a completely new perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be friends or can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp