‘After almost annihilating our planet, the families are friends’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in modern times. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with extreme tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. If Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, casting mankind into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that people can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it edged closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend