‘After almost annihilating the world, our families are friends’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered closer toward destruction more so than ever during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance plane discovered that Russian nuclear weapon bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around the island. The next phase was almost 14 days of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans can be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of progress.

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

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn