Florida Abortion Politics: Amy Littlefield; AIDS in the shadows: Kai Wright & Lizzie Ratner; Opium history: Amitav Ghosh

Living in the USA

An abortion rights amendment to Florida’s Constitution has gotten enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Now, it’s up to the state’s Supreme Court to decide whether people will get to vote on it, potentially transforming the electorate there in November. The Nation’s abortion access correspondent, Amy Littlefield, reports.

Plus: Stories from the early days of HIV & AIDS: that’s the focus of a new podcast Called Blindspot: The Plague in the Shadows. It's about how the epidemic decimated poor communities of color – and about the people who refused to stay out of sight. WNYC's Kai Wright and The Nation's Lizzy Ratner explain.

Also: The blue-blood families that made fortunes in the opium trade: Amitav Ghosh traces the origins of much of the wealth for the 19th century New England elite. His new book is called Smoke and Ashes.