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Episode Date: August 16, 2025

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Material scientist Anna Maria Kuklita is creating tech that replicates skin and simulates touch. A prosthetic hand would feel if the patient is holding a hot cup or a cold bottle of beer. Ideas about our skin and how we use it to interact with the world. That's on NPR's TED Radio Hour. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Live from NPR News in New York City, I'm Duala, Kalka. Hotel. President Donald Trump and Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky say they will meet at the White House on Monday to talk about ending the war in Ukraine. The announcement comes just hours after

Trump held a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska, as in peers Greg Myrie reports. President Trump called Zelensky and extended the invitation as he flew back from Alaska to Washington. Zelensky wrote on social media that Monday's meeting will discuss, quote, all the details regarding ending the killing and the war. Trump said in his own social media posts they believed it was best to go directly to a peace agreement rather than a mere ceasefire. But that's a very tall order. Trump has pushed for months, without success, to get a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine endorses Trump's call, while Russia's Putin has not. Speaking at the Alaska summit, Putin gave no indication he had changed his position. Greg Myrie, NPR News, Keeve. In Texas, some House Democrats are still out of state, as legislators in Austin failed to get the votes needed to debate a GOP-packed-backed proposal to change the state's congressional maps. The proposed redistricting shrinks Democratic-leaning districts, which then could lead to Republicans picking up as many as five seats in the U.S. House. Republicans say it reflects changing demographics, but critics call it Jared. remandering and say it especially hurts minority communities. Here's how Speaker Dustin borrows. Do not think you have permission to return to Texas and enjoy a peaceful weekend before finally showing up to

work. DPS will remain active and civil arrest warrants will be reissued. If you are located, you will be compelled to this chamber. Meanwhile, California's Democratic leaders released a redrawn congressional map that they planned to send to voters during a November special election. The new map could yield five new seats for Democrats and is in response to the GOP-led redistricting plan in Texas. Cap Radio's Laura Fitzgerald reports. The new map would drastically change the political makeup of four GOP-held congressional districts, essentially flipping them to blue. One target seat would become bluer. If adopted, the new districts would make it easier for Democrats to pick up five congressional seats in the

2026 midterms. Republicans currently represent nine of California's 52 congressional seats. California Governor Gavin Newsom says the proposal could cancel out the Republican-led redistricting plan in Texas. Lawmakers in Sacramento are set to vote on the proposal in the coming days. For NPR News, I'm Laura Fitzgerald in Berkeley. Japan's Prime Minister paid tribute yesterday to more than 3 million war dead 80 years ago when it surrendered to end World War II. This is NPR News from New York City. Washington's D.C.'s police chief, Pamela Smith, will continue to control the Metropolitan Police Department

after D.C. sued the Trump administration for what it saw as a hostile and unlawful federal takeover of its police force. Here's D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Chief Smith's job during this week has been to make sure that if we have and while we have federal officers, that they are being used strategically. For the first time in years, through a video, the world got a glimpse of one of the most famous Palestinian prisoners in Israel, Marwan Barguti. NPR's Emily Fang reports.

In the video, Barguti is pale, white-haired, and shrunken, nearly unrecognizable from the dark rotun man he once was when he was tipped to be the next leader of the Palestinian Authority. Instead, he is serving five consecutive light. sentences after being convicted in 2002 by an Israeli court for helping plan attacks on civilians during a Palestinian uprising that came to be known as the second indifada. And the minister lecturing Barguti in the video is Itamar Ben-Givir, himself convicted in Israel on at least eight criminal charges, including supporting a terrorism organization, and who is now the country's

national security minister. Ben-Givir says, anyone who murders are women or children, we will wipe them out. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv. In India and Pakistan, torrential rain continues to cause deadly flash floods and landslides. I'm Dua Lai Kautau, NPR News. It's that time of gear again. Planet Money Summer School is back. This semester with help from professors, policy experts, and yes, even a Nobel laureate, we're diving into how government and the economy mixed and asking the big questions like, what role should government play in our economy? Does government intervention help or hurt and how big should the government be? That's on Planet Money Summer School from NPR, wherever you get your podcasts.