Following almost destroying our world, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity veered nearer to ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear weapon bases were under construction on Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around Cuba. What followed was almost two weeks of impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger was palpable. If President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes and counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new element into the story. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the figures who, for 13 days, controlled the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side considering? What were the American side considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to question: "Why do people detest one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it moved closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and an invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the American ships, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be held by all Russians. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That these two individuals are able to do so, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to learn