Following nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives are friends’: a gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred when an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around the island. The next phase was almost 14 days of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind toward all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the United States considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do people hate each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. However, the risk of annihilation came closer than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system we were told that things are always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most momentous thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp