‘After nearly destroying the planet, the families have become allies’: a thrilling audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This happened when a US surveillance plane identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging civilization into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was Washington planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards disaster. However, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn