Following nearly annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This happened after an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting mankind toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged closer to disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend