‘After nearly destroying the world, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, humanity came closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This happened when an American surveillance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian nuclear missile bases were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly two weeks of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was palpable. If Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes would have ensued, casting humanity toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined extensively, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element into the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were the American side considering?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations hate one another to the point they go against each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be total enemies," adds Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials in the White House wanted an airstrike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba and Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative version of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. Later on, though, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous thing remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn