Following almost annihilating the world, our families have become friends’: the gripping audio series featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations hate each other and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that people have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch nearly in real time as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn