‘After nearly destroying the planet, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet edged nearer toward annihilation more so than ever in the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered the fact that Russian atomic weapon sites were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of American soil. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine encircling the island. What followed constituted almost two weeks of unbearable anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have ensued, casting mankind into all-out oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new perspective to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the figures who, for 13 days, controlled the fate of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter and an academic specializing in international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show lies in its endeavor to explore: "Why do individuals detest one another and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, people around the world could watch almost as it happened as it crept closer to catastrophe. However, the risk of destruction came closer than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm while calmly negotiate when hawkish elements around them were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed American missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following the crisis, and Nina learned about it via the Soviet school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted that Nina quips she nearly forgot she already knew the ending. This is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, has to be a sign of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along really well and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after almost 60 years since almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to comprehend