‘After nearly annihilating the planet, our families are allies’: a gripping podcast featuring John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During the month of October 1962, the planet veered nearer toward annihilation than at any other point during modern times. This happened when an American reconnaissance plane identified that Russian nuclear weapon sites were being built on Cuba, a mere 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In response, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to impose a naval quarantine around Cuba. The next phase constituted almost 14 days of unbearable stress.

The Unthinkable Threat

The danger remained palpable. Should President Kennedy, or else the Soviet counterpart, Premier Khrushchev, initiated an attack on their enemy, a cascade of worldwide atomic attacks and retaliatory strikes might have ensued, casting mankind toward all-out destruction.

The Cuban missile crisis has been documented endlessly, through volumes, films, and TV documentaries. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" introduces a novel element to this historical narrative. It is jointly hosted by Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva, family members belonging to the leaders who, for two tense weeks, held the destiny of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians planning? What was the United States thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant and an academic of international affairs.

For her, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to question: "How can nations detest one another to the point they oppose one another?"

"It struck me how remarkable the fact that individuals have the potential to be allies or else can become complete adversaries," remarks Max Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to JFK and currently an author and lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over in instances where nations enter into conflict, highlighting the profound irrationality involved to engage in warfare."

The Brink Towards Catastrophe

What’s striking regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded so publicly, people worldwide could watch nearly as it happened as it crept towards disaster. Even so, the danger of annihilation was more imminent than what anybody understood at the time.

"Almost all officials among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for a military strike and an invasion," explains Max Kennedy. "If we had struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain Soviet forces stationed there would've launched a tactical nuclear weapon against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've obliterated the aircraft carriers as well as destroyed America's primary naval force. In turn, we would have responded with an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact this did not occur is a testament to Kennedy and Khrushchev, they managed to remain calm and calmly negotiate at a time when many advisors in their governments were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the nuclear weapons from the Caribbean island and President Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed then) withdrew his missiles from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

A Different Viewpoint

Still, for those 13 days of October 1962, the anxiety was felt globally. The Bomb’s co-hosts came into the world in the years following these events, and Khrushcheva being taught about the crisis via the USSR's education system, which painted an alternative narrative of what happened.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, describing it as a scary time," Khrushcheva notes. "But for Soviet citizens, the public really didn’t know a great deal about it, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that everything was constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, the perspective was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to find a solution, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive thing," she adds. Subsequently, though, that perspective would not be shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a failure for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unprecedented Partnership

The Bomb is remarkably even-handed and expertly crafted so much so that Khrushcheva quips she nearly forgot the known outcome. This is, in part, due to contributions from renowned scholars. Yet, really, the most significant aspect is the participation of the hosts themselves. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable that descendants of the heads of state of the United States and Soviet Union to appear together publicly. The fact that Max Kennedy and Nina Khrushcheva are able to do so, and be so warm toward one another, must be seen as a symbol of hope.

"We aren't the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "After 1991, my uncle moved to America where he became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"But we had never met before the podcast," clarifies Kennedy. "Which is a shame because we connected really well and we’re friends, something that is really great. Finally, following nearly 60 years since nearly annihilating the planet, our families have become allies, so I think global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Contemporary Echoes with Present Dangers

Or is it? Part of the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we now find ourselves in dark times. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight in its history, in part because world leaders don’t seem to have the capacity to comprehend