‘After nearly annihilating our world, our relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came closer toward annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost in real time as it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn