Perceived Pressure

On this week's pod, we cross over with the top women's football pod in the country to discuss all of the storylines out of the Women's Asian Cup. Sam Lewis and Angela Christian-Wilkes from ESPN's Far Post Podcast join us to discuss Australia's response to the crisis in Iran, the Matildas' start to the tournament, and all of the wonderful nooks and crannies of football governance in Australia. Elsewhere, Saraid reacts to the news that her preseason is about to get a whole lot shorter.

This week is Grand Prix weekend in Melbourne, and the city comes alive. On the pod we have motorsport writer Michael Lamonato to get nerdy with us about the 2026 season and what we can expect over the course of the weekend and the year.

ABC Sport's Brett Sprigg joins us for a special episode of the podcast to remember the life and career of the extraordinary Dennis Cometti, who passed away this week aged 76. He left behind a legacy as the voice of football for generations, and as one of the kindest men in our great game.

Destanee Aiava rattled the tennis world on her way out earlier this year, announcing her retirement from the sport aged just 25 and citing a culture racism, sexism and homophobia. She joins Saraid on the podcast this week in her first long-form interview since retiring to talk through her decision. Elsewhere, Daany and Saraid talk through recent reporting from the ABC highlighting the lack of safety for women in footy communities around the country. Content warning: This episode contains conversations about experiences of sexual assault. To skip past those, head to 17:57 for our interview with Destanee Aiava.

Former elite figure skater Kriti Gupta joins us on the podcast this week to wrap up the Winter Olympics, get into scandals aplenty, and explains what a hogline is. Elsewhere, Daany and Saraid get into State of Origin, and misuse idioms in the process.

Cross-code basketball to footy star Grace Beasley joins us on the pod this week to talk about the world of crossing codes, the world of coming back from the worst injury any athlete can sustain, and everything in between. Apologies for the late podcast this week - a massive news week caught up to us, and we get into it on the pod.

Former University of Central Oklahoma punter, Australian Rules royalty and Channel 9 presenter Ned Balme joins us on the pod this week to talk about being a pioneer for punters in college football, journalistic ethics, and being entitled to an opinion.

In a wide-ranging chat between two complete tragics, Code Sports' chief cricket writer Daniel Cherny gets into a recap of England's shambolic Ashes tour, the future of the Big Bash and the wider ramifications of total Indian domination of world cricket. All through the lens of Simpsons references and early 2010s Auspol nods. Plus, Daany and Saraid get into the debate everyone's having in Melbourne - is the influx of influencers at the Australian Open a good thing? Debate courtesy of some wonderful reporting from friend of the show, the ABC's Marnie Vinall. You can find the article here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-26/influencers-changing-australian-open-2026/106267980