‘After almost destroying our world, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity edged nearer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger was clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging mankind into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, for 13 days, held the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp