Following almost annihilating the world, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet came closer to annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade of global atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, plunging mankind into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent BBC World Service podcast titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it edged towards disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn