‘After almost destroying our world, our relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series of worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging civilization toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

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

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend