Over half of the world’s population doesn’t know how to swim. But it wasn’t always that way. Swimming has been practiced by humans for thousands of years for fun, health, survival, competition and community. Swimming has also been used by some cultures to differentiate themselves from others - the swimmers from the non-swimmers. OPB’s Paul Marshall talks with Bonnie Tsui, author of “Why We Swim,” and Karen Eva Carr, author of “Shifting Currents: A World History of Swimming,” about what swimming can tell us about ourselves as individuals and as a culture.
And last year, OPB’s Crystal Ligori spoke with Rivka Galchen, author of “Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch,” and A.K. Blakemore, author of “The Manningtree Witches.”