Following almost annihilating the world, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This 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 inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend