‘After almost annihilating the planet, the relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast featuring JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, humanity edged nearer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft found the fact that Soviet atomic missile bases were being assembled on the island of Cuba, less than 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, U.S. President JFK commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime blockade around the island. The ensuing period was nearly 14 days filled with extreme anxiety.

An Unthinkable Threat

The threat remained palpable. Should Kennedy, or his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack against the other side, a cascade involving global atomic strikes followed by counterstrikes would have ensued, casting mankind into all-out destruction.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, in books, films, and TV documentaries. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a novel dimension into this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives of the men that, over two tense weeks, held the destiny of humanity within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the United States planning?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor of global relations.

For her, the strength of the show is its endeavor to objectively ask: "How can nations detest each other and go against each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of RFK, related to JFK and currently a writer and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly in instances where countries have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink Towards Disaster

What’s striking about this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe nearly as it happened while it edged closer to catastrophe. Even so, the risk of destruction came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike and an invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, they succeeded in exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments demanded military action. As a result, Khrushchev removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which portrayed an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a scary day," she says. "However for Soviet citizens, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was distinct. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she continues. Later on, though, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most groundbreaking thing is the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I are not the first," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Kennedy. "That is a shame because we got along really well and we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of almost destroying the world, our lineages are now allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Current Perils

Is that truly the case? Part of why The Bomb seems so urgent is that we once again are living living through a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock is closer to catastrophe in its history, in part because today's statesmen appear not to have the capacity to comprehend