Following nearly annihilating the planet, the relatives are friends’: a thrilling podcast from JFK & Nikita Khrushchev’s relatives.

During October 1962, the world edged nearer toward destruction than at any other point during modern times. This happened when a US surveillance aircraft found that Soviet nuclear missile installations were being assembled on Cuba, less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. Reacting to this, President JFK ordered the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet to enact a naval quarantine encircling Cuba. What followed constituted almost 14 days filled with impossible anxiety.

An Catastrophic Danger

The peril was obvious. Should President Kennedy, or else his Russian opposite, Premier Khrushchev, had fired on the other side, a series involving global atomic strikes and counterstrikes could have ensued, thrusting civilization into all-out ruination.

The October crisis has been documented repeatedly, through volumes, films, and television programmes. But, for its third season, a prominent audio documentary series The Bomb presents a novel perspective to the story. It is jointly hosted by Kennedy's relative and Nina Khrushcheva, relatives belonging to the figures who, over two tense weeks, grasped the fate of the world within their grasp.

"What was the Russians considering? What was the American side considering?" asks Khrushcheva, Khrushchev’s descendant who is also an academic specializing in global relations.

In her view, the strength of the podcast lies in its endeavor to explore: "How can people hate one another to the point they confront each other?"

"It struck me how profound it is that people have the potential to be friends or have the potential to be complete enemies," states Kennedy, son of Robert Kennedy, related to the late president and now an author as well as lawyer. "We see this dynamic over and over when countries have gone to war, highlighting how unbelievably stupid it is to engage in warfare."

A Brink of Disaster

What is notable regarding the Cuban missile crisis was that, since it unfolded in the global spotlight, people worldwide were able to observe almost in real time as it crept closer to disaster. Nonetheless, the threat of destruction was more imminent than what anybody realised.

"Virtually everyone among Kennedy's advisors were advocating for an airstrike followed by an invasion," says Kennedy. "If we had struck Cuba with the Sixth Fleet, it is certain the Russians stationed there would have fired a nuclear warhead at the US Sixth Fleet, and that would've sunk the naval vessels and destroyed our largest and most important fleet. And, we would have responded through an overwhelming counterattack which would have eradicated most life on the planet."

The fact it didn’t is a testament to both leaders, who managed to keep their heads and calmly negotiate at a time when everyone around them were advocating action. Consequently, The Soviet premier agreed to withdraw the missiles in the Caribbean island and Kennedy (although not reported then) removed his similar weapons based in Turkey. The relief was palpable, as was the sense of hope.

A Divergent Viewpoint

Yet, for those two weeks in October, the tension was felt globally. The podcast's co-hosts were born shortly after these events, and Nina learned about it via the Soviet education system, which presented a slightly different version of events.

"As you mentioned your father recalls it, and it was a scary time," she says. "However in the Soviet Union, people were largely unaware that much regarding the crisis, because it was a crisis, and under the Soviet system the official line was that things are always fine or positive."

Within Khrushchev’s family, though, it was distinct. "I was informed that it was a triumphant occasion it was, as it represented a direct confrontation. The leaders managed to resolve it, thus didn’t start the war, seen as a positive outcome," she continues. Subsequently, however, that view was not shared by everybody. "For a long time in Russian politics, the crisis was viewed as a defeat for the Soviet leader, because he didn’t blow up America."

A Unlikely Collaboration

This podcast is remarkably even-handed and well produced so much so that Khrushcheva quips it almost made her forget she already knew the ending. This effect is, in part, thanks to the participation of renowned scholars. But, really, the most significant aspect remains the participation of the descendants. Not so long ago, it was unthinkable for relatives of the heads of state of America and Soviet Union to appear side by side. That these two individuals are able to do so, and exhibit such warmth toward one another, has to be a sign of progress.

"We are not the pioneers," notes Nina. "After the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, my uncle moved to America and became great friends with Dwight Eisenhower’s children."

"However we had never met prior to this project," clarifies Max. "That is a shame since we connected immediately and now we’re friends, which is really great. Ultimately, after nearly six decades of almost destroying the world, our families are now friends, suggesting global relations is more secure, a little bit."

Modern Echoes and Present Dangers

Is that truly the case? One reason the reason this series seems so urgent is that we once again find ourselves living through dark times. The Doomsday Clock stands nearer to catastrophe in its history, in part because world leaders appear not to be able to learn