Following almost annihilating the world, our families are allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that individuals can be allies or can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp