‘After nearly annihilating our world, the families have become allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred when an American surveillance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained clear. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging humanity toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the American side planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp