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

During October 1962, the planet came nearer toward annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel dimension to the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can individuals detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that people have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards disaster. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn