Following almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies’: a gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity veered nearer to destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was nearly 14 days of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting civilization into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the American side considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do people hate each other and go against each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch nearly as it happened as it moved towards disaster. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary naval force. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp