‘After almost annihilating our world, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian atomic weapon bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented element to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular it is that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost as it happened as it edged closer to armageddon. However, the risk of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have sunk the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend