‘After nearly destroying our world, the families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This happened after a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the American side considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is notable about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost in real time while it crept towards catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes 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 had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn