‘After almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered nearer toward destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired when an American surveillance plane discovered that Soviet nuclear weapon sites were being assembled on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly two weeks filled with extreme stress.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. If President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington thinking?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest one another and confront one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it moved towards catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend