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

During October 1962, the planet came nearer to annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This transpired after a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed was almost 14 days of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting civilization toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, over 13 days, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable about this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time while it moved towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend