‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives are friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world edged nearer toward ruin more so than ever during the contemporary era. This happened after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered a naval task force to enact a naval quarantine around Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks of unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The threat remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a series of worldwide atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting civilization toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through volumes, movies, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents an unprecedented perspective to this historical narrative. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the figures that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What was the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its endeavor to question: "Why do people detest one another to the point they confront each other?"

"I am acutely aware how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become total enemies," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

A Brink of Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost in real time while it moved towards catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Virtually everyone in the White House wanted an airstrike followed by an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the American ships, and that would've obliterated the naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, the U.S. would have retaliated with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when everyone around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, as was the sense of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, the public were largely unaware a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was different. "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, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying America."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is a shame because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is really great. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp