‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to destruction than at any other point during recent history. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear missile installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting mankind into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side planning? What were Washington thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest one another and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become total enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time as it edged closer to disaster. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 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," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend