‘After almost annihilating our world, our families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet came nearer to ruin more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane found the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from American soil. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade around the island. What followed was almost two weeks filled with unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series involving worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have ensued, casting civilization toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces an unprecedented element to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, held the fate of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were the American side considering?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other to the point they confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe nearly as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. However, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted a military strike and a ground invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to exercise restraint while calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles in Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was felt by everyone. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always wonderful or positive."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was a direct confrontation. They were able to find a solution, and avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous thing is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is safer, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why this series seems so urgent is that we now find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to be able to grasp