Following almost destroying our world, the relatives are friends’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity came nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This occurred after a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "How can nations hate one another and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it moved towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn