‘After almost destroying our world, the relatives are allies’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet veered nearer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This happened after an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting humanity into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures who, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What was the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can people hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Precipice of Disaster

What’s notable about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp