‘After nearly annihilating our planet, the relatives have become allies’: the thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This occurred after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built on Cuba, less than 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost two weeks of extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel perspective into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures that, over two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side considering? What was Washington considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people can be friends or can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently a writer as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, people globally could watch almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, which would have obliterated our naval vessels and destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp