Following nearly destroying our planet, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling audio series featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost as it happened as it edged closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, 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 NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend