‘After almost annihilating the planet, our families have become friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world edged nearer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This happened after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from American soil. In response, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. The next phase was almost a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel perspective to the story. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the American side planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do individuals hate each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how profound the fact that people can be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals globally could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet education system, which painted an alternative narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend