‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened after a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase was nearly 14 days filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging humanity toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the American side considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards armageddon. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have sunk the naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, 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, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn