‘After nearly destroying our planet, our relatives have become friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the world veered nearer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance plane found the fact that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around Cuba. What followed constituted almost a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril was clear. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction involving worldwide atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have followed, casting mankind toward total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, in books, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast is its attempt to question: "How can nations detest each other and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that individuals can be allies or can become total adversaries," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is striking about this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals globally were able to observe almost in real time while it edged closer to disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans with the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels and sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so balanced and well produced that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn