‘After almost destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward ruin more so than ever in modern times. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks of unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging mankind into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What was Washington planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can people detest each other and confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or can become complete enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and 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 occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp