‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity edged closer to destruction than at any other point during modern times. This happened after a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight filled with extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting humanity into all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, through books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people hate each other to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn