‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families have become allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn