‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired when an American reconnaissance aircraft found that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling the island. What followed was almost 14 days filled with extreme tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the leaders who, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the American side planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to explore: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that humans can be allies or else can become total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly in real time as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors in their governments was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to learn