Following nearly annihilating the planet, our relatives are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired after a US surveillance plane identified that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, thrusting mankind toward total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, over 13 days, held the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can people hate one another and go against each other?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened while it crept closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them demanded military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp