‘After almost annihilating our world, the families are friends’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred after a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost 14 days of unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting civilization into total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented dimension into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, over 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What was Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate each other and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly in real time while it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "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."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp