Following nearly destroying our world, our families have become friends’: a thrilling podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward annihilation more so than ever in modern times. This happened when a US reconnaissance plane identified that Russian nuclear missile installations were being built in Cuba, a mere 100 miles from the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval blockade around Cuba. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight of impossible anxiety.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a cascade of global atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, plunging civilization into total destruction.

The October crisis has been examined repeatedly, in volumes, films, and television programmes. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought an unprecedented dimension to the story. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Russians thinking? What was the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the podcast lies in its attempt to explore: "How can nations hate each other and go against each other?"

"I am acutely aware how spectacular the fact that people can be allies or have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What is remarkable about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, people around the world were able to observe nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would have fired a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, they managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, during those 13 days in October, the anxiety was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, with Nina being taught about it through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative picture of what happened.

"As you mentioned your parent remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always fine and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "They told me what a great moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, and avoided the war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, however, that interpretation would not be shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a setback for Khrushchev, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes she nearly forgot the known the ending. This effect is, in part, due to contributions from historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a symbol of hope.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"But we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we connected really well and we are friends, something that is really great. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, suggesting the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series feels so necessary is that we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp