Following almost destroying our world, the families have become allies’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer toward ruin than at any other point in recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic weapon bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, plunging humanity toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new perspective into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What was the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as 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’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally were able to observe almost in real time as it edged closer to disaster. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk our largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn