Following almost annihilating our world, our families are friends’: the thrilling podcast featuring JFK and Nikita Khrushchev’s descendants.

During October 1962, the world came nearer to ruin more so than ever during modern times. This transpired following the discovery that an American surveillance aircraft identified the fact that Soviet nuclear missile bases were under construction in the island of Cuba, a mere 160 kilometers from the United States. In response, U.S. President John F Kennedy commanded a naval task force to impose a maritime quarantine around the island. The next phase was almost 14 days of impossible tension.

The Catastrophic Danger

The danger remained obvious. Should Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired against their enemy, a cascade of global nuclear attacks and retaliatory strikes would have followed, casting civilization into total oblivion.

This pivotal 1962 event has been examined extensively, through books, movies, as well as TV documentaries. However, for its third season, the audio documentary series titled "The Bomb" has brought an unprecedented element into the story. The series is co-presented featuring Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, family members of the figures that, over 13 days, grasped the destiny of the planet within their grasp.

"What were the Soviet side thinking? What were Washington thinking?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s great-granddaughter who is also a professor of international affairs.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its attempt to question: "Why do nations hate one another and confront each other?"

"It was not lost on me how spectacular the fact that humans have the potential to be allies or can become total enemies," states Max Kennedy, the son of Robert Kennedy, nephew of the late president and now a writer as well as lawyer. "History shows this over and over in instances where countries enter into conflict, demonstrating the profound irrationality it is to fight."

The Precipice of Catastrophe

What’s striking about the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it transpired so publicly, citizens worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it moved towards disaster. Nonetheless, the danger of destruction was more imminent than what most people realised.

"The overwhelming majority in the White House wanted an airstrike and a ground invasion," explains Kennedy. "Had the U.S. struck the Cubans using the naval blockade, it is certain the Russians on the ground would have fired a nuclear warhead against the US Sixth Fleet, which would've destroyed our naval vessels as well as sunk America's primary fleet. In turn, we would have retaliated through massive retaliation which would have ended most life on Earth."

The fact this did not occur highlights the composure of both leaders, they managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when hawkish elements around them was pushing for action. Consequently, The Soviet premier removed the missiles from Cuba while Kennedy (a fact not publicly disclosed at the time) removed his similar weapons from NATO ally Turkey. The sense of relief was worldwide, as was a feeling of optimism.

The Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those 13 days in October, the fear was felt globally. The podcast's presenters came into the world shortly after the crisis, and Khrushcheva learned about it via the USSR's school curriculum, which portrayed an alternative narrative of what happened.

"You said your father recalls it, describing it as a frightening time," she says. "But for Soviet citizens, people really didn’t know that much regarding the crisis, since it was a tense situation, whereas under the Soviet system we were told that things are constantly wonderful and positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "They told me what a great occasion it was, as it was eyeball to eyeball. The leaders managed to resolve it, and didn’t start the war, which was a wonderful outcome," she continues. In the years to come, though, that interpretation was not held by all Russians. "For decades in Russian politics, it was considered a failure for Khrushchev, because he didn’t blow up the United States."

An Unlikely Partnership

This podcast is so balanced , expertly crafted so much so that Nina jokes it almost made her forget she already knew outcome. This effect is, in part, due to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most groundbreaking aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Even within living memory, it was unthinkable for relatives of the leaders of America and the Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals can do that, and be so warm toward one another, has to be a sign of hope.

"We are not the pioneers," smiles Khrushcheva. "Following the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle Sergey Khrushchev’s son and became great friends with the former president's family."

"However we were strangers before the podcast," clarifies Max. "Which is unfortunate because we got along really well and now we are friends, something that is wonderful. Ultimately, following nearly 60 years of almost destroying the planet, our lineages are now allies, so I think the world is safer, a little bit."

Contemporary Parallels and Present Perils

Or is it? One reason the reason The Bomb seems so urgent is because we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The symbolic clock of doom is closer to catastrophe in its history, partly since world leaders appear not to have the capacity to learn