‘After almost destroying our planet, our relatives are allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic weapon sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President JFK directed a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was nearly 14 days of impossible anxiety.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger was obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, casting civilization into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, in books, films, as well as TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel dimension into the story. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the planet within their grasp.

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

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that humans can be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept towards disaster. However, the threat of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians stationed there would've launched a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, 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 remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would 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 progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with the former president's family."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to comprehend