‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward destruction more so than ever in recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, plunging civilization into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the American side planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that individuals can be friends or can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What is notable regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, people globally were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for 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 exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp