‘After nearly annihilating our planet, our relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to annihilation than at any other point in recent history. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance plane found that Soviet nuclear missile bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The ensuing period constituted nearly 14 days of impossible stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, plunging mankind into total oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered extensively, through volumes, films, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States planning?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It struck me how spectacular the fact that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have sunk our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people 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 fine or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and well produced so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Nina. "Following 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to learn