Following almost destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp