‘After nearly destroying our planet, our families have become allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed was nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity into total ruination.

The October crisis has been covered extensively, in books, movies, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel dimension into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do people hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans can be friends or can become complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about this event was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it crept closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm and engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend