Following nearly destroying our planet, our relatives are allies’: a gripping audio series from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet edged nearer to ruin than at any other point during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

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

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "How can nations hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend