‘After almost destroying the world, the relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world veered closer toward annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period was nearly 14 days filled with impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, plunging civilization into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new perspective to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians considering? What was Washington considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it moved towards armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp