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

In October 1962, humanity came closer toward destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian atomic weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "How can people detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly in real time while it crept closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend