When times are tough, we often look to the past for comfort. And while the shine tends to come off and the cracks start to appear as most things age, sometimes nostalgia for the good old days blurs our vision and skews our memory. 

That’s because nostalgia makes you feel something – it moves you. It makes you feel warm and fuzzy. It makes you spend your money and it demands your attention. 

But, it can also be another type of gatekeeping. It can trigger you and when we canonise or idolise nostalgic moments it can hold us back from progress. 

Today, we lie down on the Sanctum’s therapy couch and revisit the nostalgic moments that informed the young football fan inside of us. It’s an attempt to leave things in the past – which is exactly where they belong – so we can cherish in its place the moment we are in right now. With special guests Nicole Hayes and Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In February 2016, the eight-team AFLW competition was announced to the media, with 240 players putting on the boots for season one. Today, heading into the eighth year of the competition with 540 players, we’re starting to gain a better understanding of what it is to be an AFLW player. 

But, the stories are as diverse as the players – both past and present – and in this episode, Emma, Lucy and Julia deep dive into the experiences of players of different eras. 

From game one, round one, to the growing competition we follow today, special guests Kirby Bentley, Daisy Pearce and Jenna Richardson sit down to share their experiences as AFLW players both on and off the ground.

Read the AFL Players Association's Insights and Impacts Report here.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As expected, the Olympics raised many discussion points around human rights in sport, but it isn’t just global sports where human rights are part of the discourse: footy has been having this very conversation, too.

So today, we ask what are the issues that are relevant to this provincial game of Australian Rules Football? And what kind of framework can help us work our way through them.

Emma, Lucy, and Julia are joined by special guests Professor Kate Seear and Rana Hussain – who are on the ground in Paris – to explore the complex history of human rights in sport and an athlete’s right to their own voice, mind and body.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

Listen to the conversation between Julia Chiera and Rana Hussain referenced in this episode here.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can organisations change? In 2019 there was a fracture between the playing group and the organisation that represented them, the AFLPA. Today the relationship is in an entirely different place. So how did they get there? We handed over the mics to two of the key players in that dispute, Paul Marsh and Darcy Vescio, in a Sanctum version of You Can’t Ask That. 

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olympics fever has hit the world and Paris has us enthralled. But beyond the dazzle of the Eiffel Tower, is a sporting competition that has subconsciously informed the way we understand why sport exists, and why athletes compete. So, are Olympians athletes or professionals? How should they be compensated for committing themselves to their crafts and representing their countries? How does the power of broadcast and storytelling intersect with the games? And is the gratitude and glory enough to substitute payment? 

Emma, Lucy and Julia question all of this and more with an expert panel in Tess Armstrong, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Chloe Dalton and Paul Marsh.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to belong? How do we ensure people feel at home in the AFLW community as the game continues to grow? From Beyonce to global sporting examples, Emma, Lucy and Julia are joined by special guests Dr Kasey Symonds, Rana Hussain, Kirby Bentley and Shaun Harvey to discuss how we foster a sense of belonging, and why it matters.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While we were MIA from podland, there were some significant sport meets culture moments that were VERY The Sanctum. What is the connection between Taylor and the Tillies? Can art inform our conversations about sport? Here, Emma, Lucy and Julia are joined by special guests Dr Kasey Symons, Georgie Tunny, and Shaun Harvey to look at fandom culture from all angles.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How is your relationship with AFLW footy? What keeps us interested in long term relationships? Emma, Lucy and Julia are joined by special guests Daisy Pearce and Rana Hussain to interrogate where their relationships with the code are currently sitting. Plus, they talk fixtures, distractions as a weapon and the changes to sport globally.

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the AFLW season around the corner, The Outer Sanctum is back. Across eight episodes, we’ll discuss the key topics that have kept us busy in the group chats. You’ll hear from some familiar voices as well as some new ones and we cannot wait to be back in your ears - for a good time, not a long time - from this Thursday!

With thanks to the AFL Players Association.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We say goodbye to footy for 2022 and celebrate a remarkable premiership win for Daisy and her Demons.

You can follow The Outer Sanctum on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Email us at [email protected]

The Outer Sanctum is recorded on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which we work, live, learn and play, and pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past and present. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded – that this always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.