Following nearly destroying our world, our families have become friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the planet came closer toward destruction more so than ever in recent history. This happened after an American surveillance aircraft found that Soviet atomic missile bases were being built on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase was nearly 14 days of unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The threat was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired against the other side, a chain reaction involving global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, thrusting mankind into all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented element into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What was the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "Why do individuals hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What’s remarkable regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've sunk our naval vessels as well as destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn