Following nearly annihilating our world, the relatives have become friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world came closer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This happened when a US surveillance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost two weeks filled with extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was palpable. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element to the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet in their hands.

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

In her view, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate one another and confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become complete enemies," states Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as attorney. "We see this over and over when countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it crept closer to disaster. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba 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 optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative version of events.

"You said your father recalls it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle 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 a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn