‘After nearly destroying the world, the families are allies’: the thrilling audio series from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came closer to destruction more so than ever in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have ensued, casting mankind into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, over 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch nearly in real time as it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp