‘After almost destroying the world, our families are friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet came closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can people hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp