‘After nearly destroying the planet, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed was almost 14 days of unbearable tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat was clear. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade of global atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it edged towards disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels and sunk our primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "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 the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to learn