Following almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet veered nearer to ruin more so than ever during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly a fortnight of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of global atomic attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting mankind into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new dimension into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do nations detest one another and confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide could watch nearly in real time while it moved closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is a shame because we connected really well and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn