‘After almost annihilating the world, our relatives are friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer toward destruction than at any other point in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The peril was clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "How can individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that people can be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary fleet. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and 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 Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp