‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families are allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified that Russian atomic weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight filled with impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting humanity toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it edged towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have sunk the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp