‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the planet veered closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This occurred following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed constituted almost 14 days filled with extreme stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was clear. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men that, for 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What were the American side planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable about this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, people globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers 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, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn