‘After nearly destroying the planet, the families have become allies’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity came closer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the BBC World Service podcast The Bomb has brought a completely new element into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is remarkable about this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn