‘After nearly annihilating our world, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to annihilation more so than ever during recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft found that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days of extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The peril was obvious. Should Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting humanity toward total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the figures that, for 13 days, grasped the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that humans can be friends or can become complete adversaries," adds Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

A Brink of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world were able to observe nearly in real time while it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted a military strike followed by a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've deployed a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, which would have sunk our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American missiles based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus avoided the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she adds. Later on, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Partnership

This podcast is so even-handed , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, really, the most significant thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the leaders of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost six decades of almost destroying the world, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we now are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight than ever before, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn