‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to destruction than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane discovered that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly a fortnight of extreme tension.

An Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against their enemy, a cascade involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting humanity toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, through books, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new dimension into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What were Washington thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and lawyer. "History shows this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost as it happened while it moved closer to catastrophe. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have destroyed the naval vessels as well as destroyed America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when many advisors in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was worldwide, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a frightening day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," smiles Nina. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp