‘After almost annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger was palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series of worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the American side thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that humans can be friends or else can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe almost in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend