Following nearly annihilating the world, our families have become allies’: the gripping podcast from John F. Kennedy & Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

In October 1962, the world came nearer toward annihilation more so than ever during modern times. This transpired after an American surveillance plane identified the fact that Russian nuclear missile bases were being assembled in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a maritime quarantine around the island. What followed constituted nearly 14 days filled with extreme stress.

The Catastrophic Threat

The peril remained palpable. If Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a chain reaction of global atomic strikes and retaliatory strikes could have followed, plunging civilization toward total destruction.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, movies, as well as television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel element into the story. It is jointly hosted featuring Kennedy's relative alongside Khrushchev's descendant, family members of the leaders who, for two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Soviet side planning? What was the United States planning?" questions Nina Khrushcheva, the Soviet leader's descendant and a professor specializing in global relations.

In her view, the beauty of the show is its attempt to question: "How can people hate one another and oppose one another?"

"I am acutely aware how profound it is that people have the potential to be allies or else can become total adversaries," adds Max Kennedy, son of RFK, related to the late president and currently a writer as well as attorney. "We see this over and over in instances where countries have gone to war, and it just illustrates the profound irrationality it is to engage in warfare."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s remarkable about this event is that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, individuals worldwide were able to observe almost as it happened while it moved towards catastrophe. However, the threat of annihilation came closer than most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the Sixth Fleet, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've deployed a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've destroyed our aircraft carriers as well as sunk America's largest and most important naval force. In turn, we would have responded with massive retaliation that would have eradicated all life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur stands as credit to both leaders, they managed to keep their heads while engaging in diplomacy when many advisors around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) removed American similar weapons based in NATO ally Turkey. The relief was immense, matched by the sense of optimism.

The Divergent Perspective

Yet, during those two weeks in October, the tension was palpable globally. The podcast's presenters were born in the years following the crisis, with Nina being taught about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your parent recalls it, and it was a frightening time," she says. "But in the Soviet Union, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a crisis, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are always fine or sunny."

Within the Khrushchev household, however, the perspective was different. "I was informed that it was a triumphant moment it was, as it represented eyeball to eyeball. They were able to resolve it, thus didn’t start a global war, which was a positive thing," she adds. Later on, though, that interpretation would not be held by everybody. "For a long time within Russian historical analysis, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably balanced and well produced that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, partly, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. Yet, truly, the most momentous aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it would be inconceivable that relatives of the heads of state of the United States and the Soviet Union would 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 optimism.

"Max and I aren't the pioneers," notes Nina. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and formed a close bond with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate since we got along really well and now we are friends, which is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly six decades since nearly annihilating the planet, our lineages have become friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason why this series feels so necessary is because we once again are living in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than ever before, in part because world leaders appear not to have the capacity to comprehend