Following nearly annihilating the planet, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, humanity veered closer to ruin than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight filled with unbearable anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was palpable. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting civilization toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What were the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be friends or can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally could watch almost in real time while it crept closer to disaster. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have obliterated the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our families have become friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp