‘After almost annihilating the world, our relatives are allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet veered closer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This happened after an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being built in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting mankind toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element to the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures who, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do nations detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost as it happened as it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp