Following almost destroying our planet, our relatives have become allies’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented perspective into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "Why do people hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to grasp