‘After nearly destroying our world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear missile installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is notable regarding this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn