‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly a fortnight of impossible tension.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was clear. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented extensively, through books, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men who, over two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other and confront one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it edged closer to armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn