Following almost annihilating the world, our relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. This occurred after a US surveillance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly two weeks of extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, casting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What was the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate each other and go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe almost in real time while it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend