Following nearly destroying our planet, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This happened after an American reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, over two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What were Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans can be allies or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of progress.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp