‘After almost annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer toward ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, less than 100 miles from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril was palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging civilization into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented endlessly, through books, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the United States thinking?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch almost in real time as it crept towards catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk the naval vessels and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, really, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we connected really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following almost six decades since almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to comprehend