‘After almost annihilating the planet, the families are allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came nearer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This transpired when an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards disaster. However, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

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, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend