‘After nearly destroying the world, our families are friends’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity veered closer toward ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened following the discovery that an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a maritime blockade encircling the island. What followed was nearly a fortnight of extreme tension.

The Catastrophic Threat

The danger was clear. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving global atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes would have followed, plunging humanity into total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in volumes, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces an unprecedented element to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the men who, over 13 days, controlled the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the American side planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can people hate one another and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans can be allies or else can become complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, individuals around the world could watch nearly as it happened as it moved closer to armageddon. Even so, the danger of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have responded through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported then) withdrew American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, however, it was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, however, that perspective was not held by everybody. "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 Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from historians. But, really, the most momentous aspect is the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the leaders of America and USSR to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight than ever before, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp