It is a grim alternative history of the Cuban Missile Crisis. When efforts fail to resolve the standoff peacefully, US troops invade Cuba and are bombarded with a tactical nuclear weapon. The Soviet Union unleashes another nuclear bomb on New Orleans, scorching it into a barren wasteland. The United States has no choice but all-out retaliation that leaves its adversary in ruins.

That nightmare scenario is sketched out in a section of an interactive documentary released by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library to mark the 50th anniversary of the crisis.