Following almost destroying our planet, our relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK directed a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a series of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, through books, movies, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel element to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when countries enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it moved closer to armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation came closer 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. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which painted a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn