‘After almost annihilating our world, the families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world edged closer to ruin more so than ever in recent history. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented endlessly, through books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the men who, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What was Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do people hate each other and go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened as it edged closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend