‘After almost destroying the planet, the families have become allies’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation than at any other point in the contemporary era. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Soviet nuclear missile sites were being assembled in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period was nearly two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade of worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, casting civilization into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, through books, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures that, for two tense weeks, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the American side planning?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be friends or can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently an author as well as lawyer. "History shows this dynamic repeatedly in instances where nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event was that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens around the world could watch almost in real time while it edged towards armageddon. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have sunk the aircraft carriers and destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles in the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always wonderful or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn