Following nearly annihilating the world, our families are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet came closer toward annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This happened when an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Russian atomic weapon installations were under construction on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained clear. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other and confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our primary naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend