Following nearly annihilating our world, the relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet atomic missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost two weeks filled with extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other and go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn