P&P Live!: Why We Swim: A Conversation with Bonnie Tsui & Leanne Shapton

Humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not natural-born swimmers; we must be taught. As we wade our way through a waterless summer, with pools and beaches closed around the world, we reflect on why swimming is more than just an activity or exercise, but truly an escape into a world below the surface.

Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein's palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck. New York Times contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what about water--despite its dangers--seduces us and why we come back to it again and again.

In conversation with Tsui is author, artist, and publisher Leanne Shapton. She is the co-founder of J&L Books, a not-for-profit imprint specializing in art and photography books. Her book Swimming Studies is a fascinating glimpse into the private realms of swimming, and the solitary underwater moments that now ground her artistic habits.