‘After nearly annihilating the world, the families have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world veered nearer to destruction than at any other point during modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase constituted almost two weeks of impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting mankind toward total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented perspective to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged towards catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union 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 progress.

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

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend