‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives are allies’: the thrilling podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered closer to ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred when an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Russian atomic weapon sites were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. In response, President JFK ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost a fortnight of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat was clear. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade of global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging mankind into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new dimension to the story. The series is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to question: "Why do nations hate each other and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What is notable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and avoided a global war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. In the years to come, however, that interpretation would not be shared by all Russians. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp