‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families are friends’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This happened after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging civilization into total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What is striking regarding this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've obliterated the naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn