‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our families are allies’: the thrilling audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer to annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a cascade involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting mankind toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, through books, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that humans can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch almost in real time as it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp