Following nearly annihilating the world, our families are allies’: a thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, casting mankind into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable about this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp