‘After nearly annihilating the world, the families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet came nearer to destruction more so than ever in recent history. This happened after a US surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction of worldwide atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new element to the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, for 13 days, held the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What was the United States thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is that we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend