‘After almost destroying our world, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity edged nearer to ruin more so than ever in modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly 14 days of unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained obvious. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people detest each other and confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author and attorney. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , well produced so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame since we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn