Following nearly destroying our world, our families are allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer toward destruction than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly in real time as it edged towards armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be shared 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 the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

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

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp