‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives are allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around the island. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting humanity into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new element to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have sunk the naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend