‘After nearly destroying the world, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period was nearly a fortnight filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations detest one another and confront each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy 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 at the time) removed American missiles from Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend