‘After nearly annihilating the world, the families have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet edged closer toward destruction more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet atomic weapon installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed was almost two weeks of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost in real time as it crept closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels and destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn