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

During the month of October 1962, the world came closer to destruction than at any other point during the contemporary era. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance plane found that Russian atomic missile sites were under construction in the island of Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a naval blockade around the island. The ensuing period constituted nearly a fortnight of unbearable tension.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger was clear. Should President Kennedy, or his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series of worldwide nuclear strikes followed by counterstrikes could have followed, plunging humanity into total ruination.

The October crisis has been examined extensively, in books, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented perspective into the story. It is co-presented featuring Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the world in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the American side thinking?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do nations detest one another to the point they confront one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable it is that individuals have the potential to be allies or have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Kennedy, son of RFK, related to JFK and now an author and attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, citizens globally were able to observe nearly as it happened as it moved closer to disaster. However, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike followed by an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, undoubtedly the Russians on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, which would have obliterated the naval vessels as well as destroyed our largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when hawkish elements in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons in Cuba while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from Turkey. The relief was worldwide, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented an alternative picture of events.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a scary day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, because it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful outcome," she adds. Subsequently, though, that view would not be held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, it was considered a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he refrained from destroying America."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , well produced that Nina quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to contributions from historians. Yet, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the USSR would appear together publicly. The fact that these two individuals can do that, and be so warm with each other, has to be a sign of optimism.

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

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we got along really well and now we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the world, our families have become friends, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again are living in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to grasp