Following almost annihilating the world, the families have become allies’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel perspective to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

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

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend