Following nearly annihilating our world, our relatives have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world edged nearer to ruin than at any other point in recent history. This happened after a US surveillance aircraft discovered that Russian atomic weapon sites were being built in the island of Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling the island. The ensuing period was almost 14 days of extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Threat

The peril was obvious. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, initiated an attack on the other side, a series involving global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes would have ensued, casting mankind into all-out ruination.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension to the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Russians planning? What were Washington planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter who is also an academic of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show lies in its attempt to question: "How can nations detest each other to the point they go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable it is that humans can be friends or can become complete enemies," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author and attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates how unbelievably stupid it is to fight."

A Precipice Towards Catastrophe

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis is that, since it transpired in the global spotlight, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time while it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated our naval vessels and sunk America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who succeeded in remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors around them was pushing for action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, and Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which painted a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," 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 setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant thing remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union would appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now friends, so I think global relations is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason The Bomb feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to midnight in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn