Following almost annihilating the world, the relatives have become friends’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity edged closer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear missile installations were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a maritime blockade encircling the island. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with unbearable stress.

An Catastrophic Threat

The danger was obvious. Should Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, casting civilization toward all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been examined endlessly, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin considering? What was Washington planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor of global relations.

In her view, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do people detest each other to the point they oppose each other?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that humans can be friends or else have the potential to be total enemies," remarks Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating how unbelievably stupid involved to fight."

The Precipice of Disaster

What is remarkable regarding this event is that, since it unfolded so publicly, citizens worldwide could watch almost in real time while it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and an invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces on the ground would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they succeeded in exercise restraint and calmly negotiate when hawkish elements in their governments was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles in Cuba while President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, during those two weeks in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative narrative of events.

"You said your father remembers it, and it was a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system we were told that everything was always wonderful or sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, the perspective was distinct. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful thing," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and well produced that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of progress.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," adds Max. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, following almost 60 years since almost destroying the world, our lineages have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Dangers

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