Following almost annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: the gripping audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane found that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn