Following nearly destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet came closer to destruction than at any other point in the contemporary era. This happened when a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile installations were under construction on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed was almost two weeks of extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat was obvious. Should Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes and retaliatory strikes could have ensued, plunging mankind into total ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a novel perspective into the story. The series is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to explore: "Why do people detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans have the potential to be friends or can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as lawyer. "We see this over and over when nations have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. However, the danger of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed the naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. And, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and engaging in diplomacy at a time when many advisors around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The relief was immense, as was the sense of optimism.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born in the years following the crisis, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which painted a slightly different narrative of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful or positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from historians. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Perils

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