Following nearly annihilating our planet, the families are friends’: a gripping audio series from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon sites were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to question: "How can people detest one another and go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be friends or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally could watch almost in real time while it moved closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we now are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend