‘After almost destroying the planet, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer to annihilation than at any other point in modern times. This transpired when a US surveillance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear weapon installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series of global atomic strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, plunging civilization into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been covered repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin considering? What was Washington planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do nations detest each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe almost in real time while it crept towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, however, that interpretation was not held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union 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.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn