Following nearly annihilating the world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever in modern times. This occurred when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, plunging civilization into total ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time while it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp