Following almost destroying our planet, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This transpired after an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging humanity into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it edged closer to disaster. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 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 had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp