Following almost annihilating our world, the relatives are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer toward destruction more so than ever during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight of extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting humanity into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What were the United States planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "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 a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp