‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb introduces a novel element into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What was Washington considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do individuals hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that humans can be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend