THE HOWIE GAMES CELEBRATES 10 YEARS OF PIONEERING PODCASTING WITH SPECIAL CATHY FREEMAN EPISODE
LiSTNR celebrates a decade of The Howie Games today, with host Mark ‘Howie’ Howard sitting down with Australian sporting icon Cathy Freeman for the podcast’s biggest episode yet.
Since launching in August 2016, The Howie Games has become one of Australia’s longest-running and most successful sports podcasts, surpassing 126 million downloads across more than 280 guests over the podcast’s 10-year history.
Across a decade of conversations, Howie has sat down with some of the biggest names in Australian and international sport, including Lewis Hamilton, Greg Norman, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Layne Beachley, Ian Thorpe, Kelly Slater, Shane Warne, Michael Clarke, Lauren Jackson, Meg Lanning, and Leigh Matthews, and many more.
To mark the milestone, The Howie Games has also unveiled its Millionaires Club, bringing back the three guests whose episodes have cracked 1-million listens across the podcast’s 10-year history: Ange Postecoglou, Brendan Fevola and Cathy Freeman.
The anniversary series culminates with today’s conversation with Freeman, as Howie takes her back to the moment that made her one of the most recognisable athletes in Australian history: her gold medal-winning 400m final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. During the interview, Freeman discussed the upcoming 2032 Olympic Games and gave advice to Gout Gout on how to manage the expectations ahead of his home Olympics.
The conversation offers a rare opportunity to hear Freeman reflect on one of Australian sport’s most iconic moments more than 25 years later. Discussing the magical moment, Freeman said: “The crowd was on my side, Howie. I felt like I was off the ground and being carried. For the first time, I let people in and I felt like I was one with the crowd. What I experienced that night was a sense of togetherness and unity and that gives me strength.”
Over the past decade, The Howie Games has built its audience around conversations that go beyond sporting results, exploring the people, personalities, setbacks, sacrifices and defining moments behind some of the world’s most accomplished athletes.
Mark ‘Howie’ Howard said: “It was a genuine privilege to sit down with the great Cathy Freeman to celebrate ten years of The Howie Games. No Australian sporting star has made an impact on the nation quite like Cathy at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built for The Howie Games over the past ten years, and a big thank you to the LiSTNR team for all their passion, hard work, and dedication to achieve extraordinary results. Here’s to the next ten!”
Michael James, Head of Sport (LiSTNR Original Podcasts), said: “Most podcasts are lucky to reach 10 weeks, let alone 10 years! It’s a testament to Howie’s hard work, dedication, and genuine love for his guests. Howie puts his heart and soul into every episode, and that warmth, care and authenticity is what has made The Howie Games so special and kept audiences coming back for a decade. We’re incredibly proud of what Howie and the team have built, and excited for what’s still to come.”
Listen to Cathy Freeman’s episode on The Howie Games, available on LiSTNR now.
About LiSTNR:
LiSTNR is Australia’s leading audio brand, creating and curating audio content Australians want to hear and connecting with audiences through the Total LiSTNR Audience Network, reaching an estimated ten million people each month*. The LiSTNR app offers free, compelling digital audio content, including SCA’s FM, AM and DAB+ radio stations, live AFL, NRL and international cricket coverage, more than 100 music playlists, local news, and over 800 podcast titles from leading Australian and global creators. With more than 2.8 million signed-in users, LiSTNR has a deep understanding of Australians’ listening behaviour.
*The Total LiSTNR Audience Network includes radio streaming, podcasting and music consumption both on and off platform – Triton Streaming Metrics, Triton Podcast Metrics, and Edison – August 2026
