‘After nearly destroying our world, our families are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft found that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with extreme anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging humanity toward all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments demanded action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend