‘After almost destroying our world, our families have become friends’: the thrilling audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet came closer toward annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This occurred after an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being assembled in Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost 14 days of extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were Washington planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that people can be friends or else can become complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to disaster. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through 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 grasp