‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer to annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed constituted nearly two weeks filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging civilization into all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, over 13 days, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can nations detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that humans can be friends or else can become complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it moved closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, though, 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 America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to grasp