‘After almost annihilating our world, our relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward destruction more so than ever during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear missile bases were being built on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting civilization toward total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

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

"It struck me how remarkable it is that humans can be friends or else can become total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn