Following nearly annihilating our planet, the families have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin more so than ever in recent history. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting civilization into total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals hate each other and go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be friends or can become complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

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

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp