Following almost annihilating the planet, the relatives are friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This transpired when a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Russian nuclear missile sites were being built in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy directed a naval task force to enact a naval blockade encircling the island. What followed was almost a fortnight filled with unbearable stress.

An Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained clear. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes and counterstrikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out oblivion.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives belonging to the leaders who, for 13 days, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the American side considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the podcast is its attempt to explore: "Why do nations detest each other to the point they confront one another?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular it is that humans have the potential to be allies or can become complete enemies," remarks Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over when nations enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s notable regarding this event was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it moved closer to armageddon. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, there is no question the Russians stationed there would've fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and destroyed America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t highlights the composure of both leaders, who succeeded in keep their heads and engaging in diplomacy at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. As a result, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Nina learned about the crisis via the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your parent recalls it, and it was a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "However for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was constantly fine and positive."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, due to contributions from renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking thing remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be inconceivable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of hope.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we got along really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason this series seems so urgent is because we once again are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since today's statesmen appear not to be able to grasp