‘After almost annihilating our world, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer toward destruction than at any other point during recent history. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine around the island. What followed was almost 14 days of impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a chain reaction involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or can become total enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn