‘After almost annihilating our world, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer toward ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed was nearly 14 days of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, thrusting civilization into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented dimension into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn