Following nearly destroying the world, the families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. What followed was nearly 14 days of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, casting mankind toward all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were Washington planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest each other and oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people have the potential to be friends or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author and attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of destruction was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp