‘After almost destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward ruin more so than ever during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was clear. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a chain reaction involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, casting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What was Washington planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union to 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 optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn