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

In October 1962, the planet veered nearer to annihilation more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired after a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging civilization toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What is notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved closer to armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp