Following almost annihilating our planet, our families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What was the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can people detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 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 prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp