Following almost annihilating our planet, our families are allies’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost in real time while it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of 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 Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn