Following almost destroying our world, the relatives are allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet veered closer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The next phase was nearly 14 days of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat was obvious. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented endlessly, through books, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented element to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What were the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can 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 friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn