Following nearly annihilating our planet, our families have become allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came closer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it edged towards armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend