‘After almost destroying our world, the relatives have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This happened following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations 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 JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

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

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s notable about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders 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, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn