Following almost destroying the planet, the families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase was nearly a fortnight filled with impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging humanity into total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel element to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was the United States considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is striking about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it via the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend