Following almost destroying our planet, our families are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer to ruin more so than ever in recent history. This occurred when an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian atomic missile bases were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have followed, casting humanity into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

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

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn