Following almost destroying the planet, our families are allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This occurred when an American surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging humanity into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the naval vessels and destroyed our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to learn