Following almost annihilating our planet, our families have become friends’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to ruin more so than ever during modern times. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile bases were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting humanity into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What was the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest one another and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe almost in real time while it moved towards disaster. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union 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 symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn