Following nearly annihilating our world, the relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet veered closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance aircraft identified that Russian atomic missile bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted nearly two weeks of impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization into all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What were the Russians considering? What were the United States thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people can be friends or can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly in real time while it crept towards catastrophe. However, the danger of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend