Following almost destroying the world, our relatives have become allies’: a gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the world edged closer toward destruction than at any other point in recent history. This transpired after a US surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet atomic weapon bases were under construction in Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of American soil. Reacting to this, President JFK commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime blockade around Cuba. The next phase was almost a fortnight of impossible stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The threat was palpable. If Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks followed by retaliatory strikes might have followed, casting mankind into all-out ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, in volumes, movies, and television programmes. But, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new perspective into this historical narrative. The series is co-presented by Max Kennedy and Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders that, for 13 days, held the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What was the Russians thinking? What were Washington considering?" questions Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant who is also a professor specializing in international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can nations detest each other and oppose one another?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be friends or else can become total adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of JFK and now an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic repeatedly when nations enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s notable regarding this event is that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of annihilation came closer than what anybody understood at the time.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," notes Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've obliterated the aircraft carriers and sunk America's largest and most important naval force. And, the U.S. would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack that would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The fact it didn’t highlights the composure of Kennedy and Khrushchev, who managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his missiles based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, matched by the sense of hope.

The Different Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks of October 1962, the fear was palpable by everyone. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the Soviet education system, which presented an alternative picture of what happened.

"You said your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always fine and sunny."

Inside the Khrushchev household, though, it was different. "I was informed what a great moment for the USSR, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start a global war, seen as a positive thing," she continues. Later on, however, that view was not held by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, truly, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the involvement of the descendants. Even within living memory, it would be unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of America and the USSR would appear side by side. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and be so warm with each other, must be seen as a symbol of optimism.

"We are not the first," notes Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative Sergey Khrushchev’s son and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we were strangers prior to this project," clarifies Max. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the planet, our families are now friends, suggesting the world is more secure, somewhat."

Modern Parallels and Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason this series feels so necessary is because we now are living living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom stands nearer to midnight in its history, in part because today's statesmen don’t seem to have the capacity to learn