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

During October 1962, the planet came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around Cuba. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting humanity toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe almost in real time as it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn