Parsing the Peace Deal, MAGA Star Quits, Obesity Pills, (Bonus!) Books We Love

0:01Vladimir Zelensky calls it a very difficult choice. That choice? Agree to the costly peace deal on the table or continue the fight, even if that means losing U.S. support. I'm Ayesha Roscoe. And I'm Scott Simon, and this is Up First from NPR News. Today we look into the peace plan that seems to be tilted heavily toward Russia. And a one-time MAGA star calls it quits in Congress. We've got the details. The popular injectable obesity medications may become even more popular in pill form. We have the science and the timeline. And a bonus feature for bookworms and casual readers alike. So please stay with us.

0:44We've got the news you need to start your weekend.

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2:00President Trump confirms the U.S. has a new peace plan to end the war in Ukraine and strongly urges Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to sign on. Yeah, we have a way of getting peace. We think we have a way of getting peace. He's going to have to approve it. That's the president yesterday in the Oval Office. And he says that he expects President Zelensky to give an answer by Thursday. The U.S. plan provides some security guarantees for Ukraine, but it also endorses several longstanding Russian demands. And P.R.S. Charles Maines is in Moscow. Charles, thanks for being with us. Morning, Scott.

2:35What do we know about this plan? Well, first of all, it's a draft plan, and the White House officials have confirmed NPR's contents could change. But as it's publicly presented now, you know, it's rather extensive, 28 separate points, something of a laundry list for a post-conflict Ukraine, everything from when elections might be held to how Ukraine is rebuilt and who pays for it. But to actually stop the fighting, the key elements include calls for Ukraine to cede territory in the Donbass, including land that Russia has not been able to conquer in more than three years of fighting. It calls for limits to Ukraine's military, including caps on troops and certain weapons.

3:13And it calls for Ukraine to formally renounce ambitions to join NATO. You know, all clearly Russian demands, which is perhaps not surprising, given that a Kremlin envoy helped draft it with White House officials. Is there anything for Ukraine to like here? Well, to a degree, yes. The plan also codifies Ukraine's right to try and join the European Union, which as a sovereign country, it should have the right to do anyway. Also, security guarantees, including a provision that says an attack on Ukraine would be seen as an attack on the transatlantic alliance, at least for the next 10 years. So something like a temporary NATO Article 5 clause, that's something Ukraine has long wanted, even though there are questions and even doubts about how ironclad a promise like that would be.

3:57Here in Moscow, of course, Charles, what's the reaction from Russians? You know, it's been a strange week. The more details that came out about this plan, the less the Kremlin had to say. That finally changed last night, though.

4:15So that's Russian President Vladimir Putin heard here, who says the U.S. plan could be used as the basis for a final peaceful settlement, even as he went on to warn the details had not been discussed substantively with Russia. Now, Putin offered a theory why. He said it likely meant the U.S. had yet to convince Ukraine to accept the deal. But more ominously, he said it didn't matter. He said Moscow preferred diplomacy, but would achieve its goals in Ukraine militarily if need be. And what about Ukraine's response? Because there are some enormous concessions you mentioned. Yeah, huge concessions.

4:48And some would argue this plan essentially rewards the aggressor. President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a public statement to the nation last night, which he said the country was facing one of its most difficult moments. Let's listen.

5:03So here Zelensky says right now Ukraine may find itself facing a very tough choice, either losing its dignity or alienating its key partner, the U.S. But rather than immediately saying no to Trump, Zelensky said his focus would be on presenting counterproposals. Charles, what are the chances for success with this play? Yeah, Scott, there's a lot of skepticism out there because when it comes to diplomacy, Trump's team operates in these broad strokes. Now, there's nothing wrong with that per se, but as Putin suggested and Zelensky well knows, you know, these ideas need to be flushed out in more detail.

5:37And that's often where the devil lies. NPR's Charles Maines in Moscow. Charles, thanks so much for being with us. Thank you.

5:52One of Capitol Hill's most controversial figures is calling it quits. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will resign from her seat in the House in the new year. The Georgia Republican was once one of President Trump's fiercest champions. But they fell out over releasing the Epstein files. NPR Stephen Fowler has covered Marjorie Taylor Greene's career. He joins us from Atlanta. Stephen, thanks for being with us. Good morning. What seems to have prompted her decision to resign? Well, Greene put out an 11-minute video late Friday night that details the arc of her nearly five years in Congress. She outlined her path as the embodiment of Trump's MAGA movement, touted bills she passed and causes she championed.

6:33But mainly there was this pervasive disappointment with the president, her party, the leadership of the House and the state of American politics. Americans are used by the political industrial complex of both political parties, election cycle after election cycle, in order to elect whichever side can convince Americans to hate the other side more. And the results are always the same. Basically, she says she was elected to govern, and govern is one thing that Congress isn't doing. Of course, recently, President Trump called Marjorie Taylor Greene a traitor for supporting the release of the Epstein files.

7:08Then he signed the bill into law this week. How does the figure of Epstein play into their relationship? Well, since Trump returned to office, there have actually been a number of policies and positions that have garnered criticism from some Republicans, especially Green, who said they're not in the spirit of America first. When the U.S. bombed Iran, there was MTG asking how the foreign policy push benefited conservative America first views. She called Israel's war in Gaza a genocide and has criticized America's support of Israel as not being America first. Trump's economic policies, tariffs, importing Argentine beef to try and lower domestic prices.

7:48Well, you get the idea. And on the Epstein files front, Trump's campaign promise to release the files related to his life and death and the numerous ways the president stonewalled the release this year before ultimately relenting this week is another factor. Here's what she said in her video. Standing up for American women who were raped at 14 years old, trafficked and used by rich, powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for. Scott, this was basically the last straw. You mentioned her disappointment with Congress.

8:25Republicans, of course, hold a narrow majority there. Did that seem to factor into her decision? Absolutely. January 5th, the day she'll resign, is right before the House returns to work in 2026. Republicans do have a narrow majority for now, and Green hints that it's not being used to govern properly and that she doesn't expect that majority to last. There's also a healthy dose of criticism in her statement about Speaker Mike Johnson keeping the House out both before and during the government shutdown and not doing anything like addressing health care subsidies. The House should have been in session working every day to fix this disaster.

9:00But instead, America was force-fed disgusting political drama once again from both sides of the aisle on television every single day. It is not just Marjorie Taylor Greene that wants to get out of Washington, Scott. She's one of a record 40 House members and 10 senators, mostly Republicans, who have indicated they don't plan to return to their seats after the 2026 election, joining a number of other lawmakers who are retiring or running for a different office. Does Marjorie Taylor Greene's decision indicate anything, because you cover this beat, about the broader direction of the Republican Party now?

9:36Well, it's not just a one-off fight with a member of Congress. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a canary in the coal mine for the state of the Republican Party. The Republicans suffered defeats up and down the ballot in this month's elections. Economic headwinds are not in their favor. And Green has put a very visible dent in the previously impenetrable armor that is Trump's control over the GOP and its future. There was always going to be questions about what a post-Trump Republican Party would look like. We're now just seeing that sooner and messier than Republicans would have hoped for. And Pierre Stephen Fowler, thanks so much.

10:09Thank you.

10:19Drugs like Wagovi and Ozempic have become increasingly popular options for millions of people who want to try to reach a healthier weight, but those drugs taken as weekly injections are not for everybody. Or for every wallet. That's why experimental pills are drawing so much attention. A Wagovi-style pill is expected to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the year. We have NPR pharmaceuticals correspondent, Sydney Lupkin, here to talk about that. Good to have you, Sydney. Thanks for having me. So why hasn't there been a pill version of these drugs until now? I mean, it seems like something a lot of people will want.

11:00Yeah, I mean, it's a good question. And there sort of is. It's called Rebelsis, but it's only approved for type 2 diabetes. It's made by Novo Nordisk, which is the same company that makes Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and Wagovi for obesity, but it's a lower dose of the active ingredient these injectable drugs share, semaglutide. The new pill would be a higher dose aimed at patients with obesity, and studies show its efficacy is pretty close to Wagovi's. Tracy Zvinich is the director of policy strategy and alliances at the nonprofit Obesity Action Coalition. She says more options would be a big deal.

11:35The patient community in the obesity space has been living without, gone without treatment for so long. So new innovations, new treatments to treat this chronic disease, all are welcome, all are exciting. She says a lot of patients are hopeful about the new pills, particularly if they've had a hard time accessing the injections for one reason or another. Okay, so how would this new pill work? Is it the same as the injectable versions? So semaglutide, that active ingredient, gets broken down pretty quickly in the stomach, too quickly to actually get absorbed and do its job. That's why it's mostly been an injectable.

12:16So Novo Nordisk added something to it to fix that. It's a chemical with a long name, but the abbreviation is S-N-A-C, snack. Andrea Trena, one of Novo Nordisk's obesity directors, explained how it works. If you think about dropping an Alka-Seltzer tablet in a glass of water, that immediate fizzy reaction that occurs. That is what happens in your stomach as soon as this tablet hits the base of your stomach, hits that stomach wall. It creates this fizzy environment just around the pill, blocking the stomach acids from breaking it down too quickly and giving it enough time to get absorbed into the bloodstream.

12:52It takes about 30 minutes. So the pill needs to be taken on an empty stomach and you can't eat or take other medications until it's absorbed. Okay, it seems like that might turn at least some people off. What have you heard from patients? Yeah, well, there are other popular drugs that people already take that need to be taken the same way. So it's not a deal breaker for everyone. But not everyone is interested if the injections are already working well for them. This would be a daily pill. The injections are weekly. But the big hope from patients is that this pill will be cheaper and get better insurance coverage than the injections.

13:27One person told me they just hope it's less expensive than their mortgage. Dr. Richard Siegel is an endocrinologist at Tufts Medical Center. One of the big problems with all of the medicines in this arena has been the cost. And can we equitably get these medicines to the thousands, millions really, of people who might benefit from them? He says three quarters of the messages he gets from patients are about these drugs. And a lot of them are dealing with renewals and insurance companies. His office is staffed to handle that, but not every doctor's office is. When some people lose insurance coverage, they can afford a few hundred dollars a month to buy directly from the drug manufacturers.

14:09But a lot of people can't, even with recent company discounts that make it as low as$200 a month in some cases. So do you think the pills actually will be cheaper? So I don't know for sure, but pills typically are cheaper to make than drugs given by injection. The injector pens can also add to the cost. As for Novo Nordisk, it hasn't announced its sticker price yet. However, as part of a deal with the Trump administration, it said that for patients not using their insurance, they'd offer it for$149 a month. That's a cheaper direct-to-consumer price than for injectables, so it could be an encouraging sign.

14:45The company says access is an issue that it's working on with other parts of the drug supply chain. That was NPR Pharmaceuticals correspondent Sydney Lupkin. Thank you so much, Sydney. You bet.

15:04Now for a little bonus element of Up First Today. And folks, if you can, get a pen and paper because we're about to talk about some of our favorite books of the year. And you might want to jot down a few of these titles. You know, you can also, like, just keep this episode on your phone. And there's always a transcript at npr.org. Come on, Aisha. It's 2025. almost 2026. Screenshots, screenshots. I forgot about that. Well, let's get into it. With us now to talk about NPR's annual interactive books roundup, Books We Love, is Andrew Limbong, host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast. Hi, Andrew. Hey, Aisha.

15:46We love this time of year, but for listeners who aren't familiar, tell them about Books We Love. It is not just like a best of, here's the 10 best books you got to read in 2025, right? We ask everyone at NPR, so we got editors and producers and people on the business side and all that stuff. We ask them what their favorite books of the year were. This year, we're in the neighborhood of 380 books, which is a lot. But the size and scope is sort of the whole point. So what have you got for us? All right. Well, word on the street, I hear that someone on your staff is looking for something plotty. Okay.

16:23So one of the books I personally recommended was Emma Petit's Tilt. Now, this is a book about a woman. She's super duper pregnant and she's at an Ikea running an errand when an earthquake happens. And it's a really speedy book because at its core, it is a very person has to go from point A to point B, right? She's got to find her way home out of this Ikea in a Portland that has been ravaged by an earthquake. And she runs into a few obstacles here and there and she sort of has to be on the move. But what it is also is a critique or a pretty funny send up of the keeping up with the Joneses of parenthood, right?

16:57You know, that feeling where if you don't buy the fanciest, shmanciest, bajillion dollar stroller, you are a failure. It's sort of poking at that and asking some interesting questions about motherhood and marriage and relationships, all while being straight up an action adventure book. Another sort of plotty book is Kashana Kali's The Payback. This is a bit of a heist novel about a woman and her friends who concoct a bit of an Ocean's Eleven type caper to wipe out everyone's student loans. This isn't necessarily taking place in our world. It's in a bit of a heightened world where there are these special cops on the hunt for anyone who is late to repay their debts.

17:35And they will track you down and kind of assault you if you are late on your repayment. It's a pretty thrilling read. Okay. What about nonfiction? Yeah. Yeah, I know we're at the time of year where a lot of families are traveling, right? And traveling can be stressful. So a book I've been thinking about is called A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhurst, right? It's about a young British couple in the 70s who decide they want to sell everything off and sail to New Zealand. Things don't go great. And they end up floating on a life raft in the Pacific. It's a deeply reported book. But it does also make me think like, oh, maybe me dragging my partner to the airport and the plane is delayed.

18:17Things could be worse than having to eat stale McDonald's fries. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. While we're talking about nonfiction, there's also this book called Fetishized by Kayla Yu. And this is an essay collection about having mixed feelings about being objectified. She was a former model. And so she cops to catering for what we might call the male gaze. but she's also aware of the broader political, cultural baggage that doing that can have. And so I think it's an interesting insight into a weird slice of life. So what's a book that you recommend personally? One of the books I put up for Books We Love was called The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovitz.

18:58This was actually one of the finalists for the Booker Prize. It's about a guy whose wife cheated on him a while back, but he swore not to do anything about it until they became empty nesters, right? until their youngest was off in college. And so the book follows him dropping his daughter off at school and then going on a road trip. He doesn't have a destination in mind. He just is sort of driving to drive and to figure things out. I was a bit trepidatious about this novel. I thought it would be, people in books discourse have been thinking a lot about men, right? Men in books and men in literature.

19:29And I thought it was going to be a very like, here's the answers about all the problems plaguing men kind of book. But it's actually this really quiet and sweet and intimate book about a guy just trying to find some roots in some of the people he's sort of lost touch with. That's NPR's Andrew Limbong. Thank you so much, Andrew. Thanks, Aisha.

19:55And that's Up First for Saturday, November 22nd, 2025. I'm Scott Simon. And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Michael Radcliffe produced today's podcast with Lena Twarick and Samantha Balaban, Our editor was Ed McNulty, along with Deepar Vaz, Jacob Fenston, Hadil Al-Shulshi, Miguel Macias, Christian Dev Callimore, and Scott Hensley. Andy Craig directed. Our technical director was David Greenberg, with engineering support from Zoe Vangenhoven, Nisha Hines, and Damian Herring. Our senior supervising editor is Shannon Rhodes, Evie Stone is our executive producer, and Jim Kane is our deputy managing editor. And tomorrow on the Sunday story, AI in higher ed, the future of teaching and learning.

20:41For more people-powered reporting, not AI, conversations and slices of life, listen to Weekend Edition. Find your local NPR station at stations.npr.org. We're humans. We have souls. Well, who would use all that technology just to come up with two people like us? Exactly. That is true.

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