Following nearly annihilating our planet, our families are allies’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate one another and confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that people have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost in real time while it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn