‘After almost destroying our world, the families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet edged closer to destruction more so than ever during recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found that Russian atomic weapon sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting civilization toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders who, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations detest each other and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally could watch almost as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend