Following nearly annihilating the planet, our families are friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin than at any other point during recent history. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity into total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can nations detest one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

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

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp