Following nearly annihilating our planet, the relatives are allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around the island. What followed was almost two weeks of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging humanity into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through books, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do individuals hate each other and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, 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 unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend