‘After almost annihilating our planet, the families are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Khrushchev’s relatives.

During the month of October 1962, the world came nearer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired after an American reconnaissance plane identified that Russian atomic weapon installations were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles from American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK directed the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was nearly two weeks of extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained clear. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire against the other side, a series involving worldwide atomic attacks and counterstrikes might have ensued, plunging civilization into total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through books, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents an unprecedented dimension into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy alongside Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the men who, for 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What was Washington considering?" asks Nina Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also a professor of international affairs.

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

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that humans can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly it is to fight."

A Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking about this event was that, because it unfolded so publicly, citizens globally were able to observe almost as it happened as it crept towards armageddon. Even so, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors wanted an airstrike followed by a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck Cuba with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would have launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, we would have retaliated with massive retaliation that would have ended all life on the planet."

The reality this did not occur stands as credit to Kennedy and Khrushchev, who succeeded in remain calm while engaging in diplomacy when everyone in their governments were advocating military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed American similar weapons from Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born shortly after these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the Soviet school curriculum, which presented a slightly different picture of events.

"You said your parent recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But in the Soviet Union, the public really didn’t know a great deal regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus avoided the war, which was a positive outcome," she adds. In the years to come, though, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for Khrushchev, because he refrained from destroying the United States."

A Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is remarkably balanced , well produced that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, in part, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect is the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable for descendants of the heads of state of the United States and USSR to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, must be seen as a sign of optimism.

"Max and I aren't the first," smiles Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame because we connected immediately and now we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after almost 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages have become friends, so I think global relations is safer, a little bit."

Modern Parallels and Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again are living in a perilous era. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn