Following almost destroying our world, our relatives have become friends’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world veered closer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This occurred when an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic weapon bases were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks of unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, in books, films, as well as television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new element to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders that, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can individuals hate one another and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be friends or else can become complete enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time while it moved towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, and that would have destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk our primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

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

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend