Following nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives have become allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred after an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase was almost 14 days of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting humanity toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined endlessly, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel dimension to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Russians planning? What was the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to question: "Why do individuals hate one another to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch almost in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. However, the threat of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements around them demanded action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp