Following nearly destroying the world, our families are friends’: a thrilling audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet came nearer to destruction more so than ever in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly 14 days of impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn