‘After nearly destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving global atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other and confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be allies or else can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn