Following almost annihilating our planet, the relatives are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world veered nearer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the American side considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to grasp