‘After almost annihilating the planet, the relatives are allies’: a gripping audio series featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet came nearer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting humanity into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented element into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is notable about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe nearly in real time as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 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 Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend