Following nearly annihilating our world, our families have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight of extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging civilization toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people can be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost as it happened while it moved closer to disaster. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn