Following almost destroying the planet, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging mankind into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new element into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can people hate each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn