Following nearly destroying the world, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet edged nearer to destruction than at any other point in modern times. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new element into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn