‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to ruin more so than ever during recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

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

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans can be allies or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn