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

During October 1962, the world veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were Washington planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or positive."

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. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. 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 pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp