Following almost annihilating the planet, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance plane discovered that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being built on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was almost a fortnight of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging mankind into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was the American side thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend