Following almost annihilating the planet, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer toward annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This occurred when an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat was palpable. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, thrusting humanity into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound it is that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have sunk our aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, with Nina learned about it via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend