‘After almost destroying the planet, the relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast featuring JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, humanity edged closer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This transpired when an American surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic missile bases were under construction on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the US mainland. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. What followed constituted almost a fortnight of unbearable stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The peril remained clear. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of global nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, plunging humanity toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, as well as television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel element into the story. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members belonging to the men that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin thinking? What was the United States thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to question: "Why do people hate each other and confront one another?"

"It struck me how profound it is that individuals can be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," remarks Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently a writer and attorney. "History shows this repeatedly when nations have gone to war, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

The Brink of Disaster

What’s striking regarding this event was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction came closer than most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked Cuba with the naval blockade, undoubtedly Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in remain calm while calmly negotiate at a time when everyone in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union the official line was that things are constantly fine and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start the war, which was a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that interpretation was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted that Nina jokes it almost made her forget the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union would appear together publicly. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is unfortunate because we got along immediately and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Perils

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to comprehend