Following nearly destroying our world, the families have become friends’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Khrushchev’s relatives.

In October 1962, the world veered closer to annihilation than at any other point during recent history. This transpired after an American surveillance aircraft found the fact that Russian atomic missile installations were being assembled on the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to enact a maritime quarantine encircling Cuba. The next phase was almost two weeks filled with extreme anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The threat remained obvious. Should President Kennedy, or the Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a cascade involving worldwide nuclear attacks and counterstrikes would have followed, plunging civilization toward all-out destruction.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined repeatedly, in books, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a completely new element into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the men that, over two tense weeks, controlled the fate of humanity in their hands.

"What was the Kremlin planning? What were the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and an academic specializing in international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the show is its attempt to explore: "How can people detest one another and confront one another?"

"It was not lost on me how profound the fact that individuals can be allies or else have the potential to be complete adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently an author as well as attorney. "History shows this over and over in instances where nations have gone to war, highlighting the sheer folly involved to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What is striking about the Cuban missile crisis is that, because it transpired in the global spotlight, individuals globally were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved closer to disaster. However, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what most people understood at the time.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and a ground invasion," notes Max Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the naval blockade, there is no question Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon at the American ships, which would've destroyed the aircraft carriers and sunk our primary fleet. In turn, we would have responded through massive retaliation which would have ended all life on Earth."

The reality it didn’t is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to keep their heads while calmly negotiate when many advisors around them was pushing for military action. Consequently, Khrushchev removed the missiles from the Caribbean island while President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) withdrew his missiles from Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was the sense of optimism.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Still, for those two weeks of October 1962, the tension was palpable globally. The Bomb’s presenters were born in the years following these events, with Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis through the USSR's school curriculum, which presented a slightly different narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a frightening day," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, the public were largely unaware a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas in the Soviet Union we were told that everything was always fine or positive."

Inside the Khrushchev household, however, it was different. "They told me that it was a triumphant occasion for the USSR, because it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Later on, however, that view would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

An Unprecedented Collaboration

This podcast is so balanced and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva jokes it almost made her forget the known the ending. This is, partly, due to the participation of historians. But, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the involvement of the hosts themselves. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a sign of progress.

"We 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 Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "That is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we are friends, which is really great. Ultimately, following almost six decades since almost destroying the world, our families have become allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Current Dangers

Or is it? Part of why this series feels so necessary is that we now find ourselves in a perilous era. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to grasp