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

During October 1962, the world edged closer to ruin than at any other point during the contemporary era. This occurred after a US surveillance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic missile bases were under construction in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to establish a maritime blockade encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. If Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Nikita Khrushchev, were to fire against their enemy, a series involving worldwide nuclear attacks followed by retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging civilization into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, through books, films, and TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series The Bomb introduces a completely new element into this historical narrative. It is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of the planet in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What were the United States planning?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also an academic of international affairs.

In her view, the beauty of the show lies in its attempt to objectively ask: "Why do individuals detest each other and go against one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now a writer and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, demonstrating the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What’s striking about this event is that, because it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it edged towards catastrophe. Even so, the risk of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces on the ground would've launched a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and sunk America's primary fleet. And, the U.S. would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the fear was palpable globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts were born shortly after the crisis, with Nina learned about it through the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed a slightly different version of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a frightening day," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always wonderful or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, the perspective was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant moment it was, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view would not be shared by all Russians. "For decades within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced , well produced so much so that Nina quips it almost made her forget the known outcome. This is, partly, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We are not the first," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," adds Max. "That is a shame since we connected really well and we’re friends, which is wonderful. Finally, following nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families have become friends, so I think the world is safer, somewhat."

Modern Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? One reason why this series seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders appear not to be able to grasp