Following nearly annihilating our world, our families have become friends’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost 14 days filled with impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes might have followed, casting civilization into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations hate each other and confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've obliterated our naval vessels as well as sunk our primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp