‘After nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed was nearly a fortnight of impossible stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger was clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear attacks followed by counterstrikes could have followed, casting humanity into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the figures that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington thinking?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations hate each other and oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that humans can be friends or have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch nearly in real time as it moved towards catastrophe. Even so, the threat of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have deployed a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk our naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are always fine or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

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

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and now we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost six decades of nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again are living living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp