Off Course

Like a lot of parents, Yibin Li’s dad dedicated himself to making sure his daughter stayed on a path that would lead her to a better life than his. But the obstacles her dad had to surmount to achieve this are unlike those any parent anywhere has faced. Ira tells Yibin’s story. (6 minutes)

At the age of 17, competitive swimmer Lynne Cox had already accomplished a lot in the open ocean. She’d set two world records crossing the English Channel. But it wasn’t until a practice swim one morning that year in California that she did something we’d never heard of any human doing in the water. Phoebe Judge, host of the “This Is Love” podcast, tells her story. (14 minutes)