‘After almost destroying our planet, our families are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, casting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "How can nations hate one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch nearly in real time while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be 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 Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp