Following almost destroying the planet, the relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came closer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed was almost two weeks of extreme anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting humanity into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What were Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it edged closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them were advocating military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend