‘After almost annihilating our planet, the families are allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost a fortnight of extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, thrusting civilization into all-out oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Russians thinking? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can individuals detest one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend