Following almost annihilating the planet, our families have become friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world came closer to ruin more so than ever during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance plane discovered that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be friends or can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly in real time while it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp