Following almost annihilating our world, our families are friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found the fact that Russian atomic weapon installations were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through books, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "How can nations detest one another and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend