Following nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward ruin more so than ever during modern times. This transpired when an American surveillance plane discovered that Soviet atomic missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb 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, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp