‘After almost destroying the planet, our families are friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, the planet veered closer to ruin than at any other point during modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance aircraft discovered that Russian nuclear missile sites were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade around Cuba. The next phase constituted nearly 14 days of extreme stress.

The Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained palpable. If President Kennedy, or the Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a cascade of global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, casting humanity toward total destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been covered endlessly, through volumes, movies, and television programmes. However, in its latest installment, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought a novel element to this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the men that, over 13 days, controlled the fate of the world in their hands.

"What were the Kremlin planning? What were the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

For her, the beauty of the podcast is its endeavor to question: "Why do nations hate each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that people can be friends or can become total enemies," adds Kennedy, son of RFK, nephew of JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding this event was that, because it transpired so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened while it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," says Max Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated our aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation that would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads while calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them were advocating military action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by a feeling of optimism.

A Divergent Perspective

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the tension was felt by everyone. The Bomb’s presenters came into the world in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva learned about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much about it, because it was a crisis, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that things are constantly wonderful and sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and avoided the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that perspective was not shared by everybody. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, simply he refrained from destroying the United States."

An Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most significant thing remains the involvement of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear together publicly. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"Max and I are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son where he formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we got along immediately and we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to be able to learn