‘After almost destroying our world, the families are friends’: a gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight of unbearable stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "How can people hate one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it edged closer to disaster. However, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn