‘After nearly destroying our planet, our families are friends’: the gripping audio series from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged closer to annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging mankind toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders who, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people can be allies or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp