Following almost annihilating the world, the relatives have become allies’: the gripping podcast from JFK & Khrushchev’s descendants.

In the month of October 1962, humanity came closer to ruin than at any other point in modern times. This occurred following the discovery that a US reconnaissance plane discovered the fact that Soviet atomic missile installations were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President John F Kennedy commanded the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval blockade encircling the island. The ensuing period constituted almost a fortnight filled with impossible tension.

An Unthinkable Danger

The danger remained clear. If President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a chain reaction of global nuclear strikes followed by retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting humanity into total oblivion.

The October crisis has been documented extensively, in volumes, films, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb has brought a completely new dimension into the story. The series is co-presented by Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, relatives of the leaders that, for two tense weeks, held the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the United States planning?" ponders Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and a professor of global relations.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its attempt to question: "How can individuals detest each other and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how remarkable the fact that individuals can be friends or have the potential to be total adversaries," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this dynamic over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, and it just illustrates the sheer folly involved to fight."

A Brink Towards Catastrophe

What is remarkable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, because it transpired so publicly, citizens globally could watch nearly as it happened as it edged closer to catastrophe. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction came closer than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," says Kennedy. "Had the U.S. attacked Cuba using the Sixth Fleet, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead at the American ships, which would have destroyed our naval vessels and destroyed America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to exercise restraint and engaging in diplomacy at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. As a result, Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, as was a feeling of hope.

The Divergent Perspective

Still, for those two weeks in October, the fear was palpable globally. The podcast's co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it through the USSR's education system, which portrayed a slightly different picture of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much about it, since it was a tense situation, and in the Soviet Union the official line was that everything was constantly fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, however, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, as it was eyeball to eyeball. They were able to find a solution, and didn’t start a global war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, however, that interpretation would not be shared 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 the United States."

A Unlikely Collaboration

The Bomb is so even-handed , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, partly, thanks to the participation of historians. Yet, truly, the most significant thing is the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was inconceivable for descendants of the heads of state of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva can do that, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," notes Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "That is unfortunate because we connected really well and we are friends, which is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels with Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves in dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to midnight than ever before, partly since world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to learn