Following nearly destroying the world, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon bases were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, plunging civilization into total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel perspective to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "How can people hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Disaster

What’s striking about this event was that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. However, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that view was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend