‘After almost annihilating the world, the families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This transpired when a US surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian nuclear weapon bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to establish a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed was almost 14 days of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was clear. If President Kennedy, or else the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks followed by counterstrikes would have followed, plunging mankind toward all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the world in their hands.

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

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can individuals hate each other to the point they go against one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that people have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice Towards Disaster

What is striking regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of annihilation came closer than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have eradicated all life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which presented an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend