Following nearly annihilating the planet, the relatives have become allies’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving global atomic strikes and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn