‘After nearly annihilating the world, the families are allies’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world veered closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when an American surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals can be allies or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp