Following nearly annihilating the planet, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet edged closer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, thrusting humanity into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly in real time while it moved towards disaster. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp