‘After nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came closer to annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "How can nations hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept closer to disaster. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp