Following nearly destroying the planet, the relatives are allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came closer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging humanity toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, over 13 days, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened while it crept closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend