Following almost annihilating our world, the families are friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came closer toward ruin than at any other point in modern times. This occurred when an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel element to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What was the American side thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations hate one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it crept closer to armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why 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 be able to comprehend