‘After nearly annihilating our world, our families have become allies’: a thrilling podcast from JFK and Khrushchev’s relatives.

In the month of October 1962, the world came closer to annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired after a US reconnaissance aircraft identified that Soviet atomic missile sites were being assembled in Cuba, less than 160 kilometers off the coast of the US mainland. Reacting to this, U.S. President John F Kennedy ordered a naval task force to establish a naval blockade encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost two weeks filled with impossible anxiety.

The Unthinkable Danger

The peril remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, were to fire on the other side, a series involving global nuclear attacks and counterstrikes could have followed, thrusting civilization toward total ruination.

This pivotal 1962 event has been documented repeatedly, in volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. However, in its latest installment, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" presents a completely new dimension to this historical narrative. The series is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders that, over 13 days, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What were the Russians considering? What were Washington considering?" ponders Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's great-granddaughter and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the unique appeal of the show is its endeavor to explore: "Why do nations detest one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound the fact that people have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," states Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and now an author as well as attorney. "We see this repeatedly in instances where countries enter into conflict, highlighting the sheer folly it is to fight."

The Brink Towards Disaster

What’s notable about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people around the world were able to observe almost in real time while it edged closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the risk of destruction came closer than anybody realised.

"Almost all officials in the White House were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Kennedy. "If we had attacked the Cubans with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead against the American ships, and that would've sunk our aircraft carriers and sunk our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have ended most life on the planet."

The reality it didn’t stands as credit to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate when everyone around them demanded action. As a result, The Soviet premier removed the nuclear weapons in the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (although not reported at the time) removed his similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Different Perspective

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the tension was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world shortly after these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about it via the USSR's education system, which presented a slightly different narrative of events.

"As you mentioned your father remembers it, describing it as a scary time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that everything was constantly wonderful and sunny."

Inside Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was different. "I was informed what a great moment it was, because it represented eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus avoided the war, seen as a wonderful thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that interpretation was not shared by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a setback for the Soviet leader, simply he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Collaboration

The Bomb is remarkably balanced , expertly crafted that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot she already knew outcome. This is, in part, thanks to contributions from renowned scholars. But, truly, the most momentous thing is the involvement of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for descendants of the leaders of America and the USSR would appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and exhibit such warmth with each other, must be seen as a symbol of progress.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, a relative moved to America and formed a close bond with the former president's family."

"However we had never met before the podcast," adds Kennedy. "Which is unfortunate since we connected immediately and we are friends, something that is wonderful. Finally, after nearly 60 years of nearly annihilating the world, our families are now allies, so I think the world is more secure, somewhat."

Contemporary Echoes with Current Dangers

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now are living living through a perilous era. 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 grasp