‘After nearly destroying the world, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American surveillance plane found the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase constituted nearly a fortnight of impossible stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind into total destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another and confront each other?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly when nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the naval vessels and sunk our primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we connected immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost six decades of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to grasp