Following almost annihilating our planet, the families are allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled in the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction of global atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting humanity into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, through books, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented element into the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the men who, for 13 days, held the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can nations detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally were able to observe almost in real time while it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend