Following almost destroying the world, our families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world came closer to destruction than at any other point in recent history. This happened after an American surveillance plane found that Russian atomic missile bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days filled with impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting humanity toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

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

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that people can be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it moved closer to disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware 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."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn