‘After almost annihilating our planet, the families are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the planet came nearer toward destruction more so than ever during the contemporary era. This occurred after an American reconnaissance plane found the fact that Soviet atomic missile sites were being built on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a naval quarantine around the island. The ensuing period constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The threat was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series of global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered extensively, in books, films, and TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension to the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men who, for two tense weeks, controlled the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What was the United States considering?" asks Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor of international affairs.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people hate one another to the point they oppose each other?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

The Brink of Disaster

What is striking about this event is that, because it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide were able to observe nearly in real time as it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of annihilation came closer than anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our aircraft carriers and destroyed our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended all life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone in their governments demanded military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born in the years following these events, and Nina being taught about it through the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative version of events.

"You said your parent remembers it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

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

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Parallels with Present Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to grasp