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

During October 1962, the planet came closer toward ruin more so than ever during modern times. This occurred when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. In response, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around the island. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate one another and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch almost in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp