‘After nearly annihilating the world, the families are allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet came nearer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This transpired after a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around the island. The next phase was almost two weeks of impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, casting civilization toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp