Following nearly destroying our world, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer to destruction than at any other point during recent history. This happened when an American surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost two weeks of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging mankind into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do people hate one another and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it edged towards disaster. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and 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 symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend