Herlights

Latest Episodes:

EP 322: Paralympic Gold Medalist Emma Schieck Oct 30, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley welcomes Emma Schieck, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist in sitting volleyball for Team USA. Most recently, she led the U.S. to a World Cup title against Brazil and was named tournament MVP. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, she's a passionate advocate for adaptive sports and athlete inclusion.

Foley and Schieck talk about how she got started in sitting volleyball, the unique rules of the game, beating Brazil, and what's next in her already storybook career.

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

Emma Schieck: IG https://www.instagram.com/emmaschieckk/?hl=en

EP 321: USWNT & WNBA Coaching Carousel Oct 27, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley breaks down what's happening across women's sports this week. The USWNT wraps two matches against Portugal, NWSL Decision Day is on deck, the WNBA coaching carousel keeps spinning, and the WPBL unveils its first four teams. Plus, a massive shoutout to Jess Rowe and Miriam Payne, the first all-female duo to row non-stop and unassisted from Peru to Australia, raising money for an incredible cause along the way. Enjoy!

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

NWSL: https://www.nwslsoccer.com/schedule/regular-season

USWNT: https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/uswnt

WPBL: https://www.womensprobaseballleague.com/

EP 320: ESPN Radio Talk Show Host CJ Silas Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley welcomes CJ Silas, the host and executive producer of The C.J. Silas Show on ESPN Radio and veteran baseball announcer for Cal Poly SLO and Allan Hancock College. She recently called the games for the inaugural Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL) tryouts in Washington, D.C.

Foley and CJ dive into the formation of the WPBL, the thrill of calling those first games, an unforgettable adventure with Maybelle Blair, and the joy of seeing women's baseball get the spotlight it's always deserved.

After we recorded the episode, the WPBL unveiled its first four teams - Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Boston!

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

The CJ Silas Show: https://thecjsilasshow.com/

EP 319: NWSL's Press, Riley & Barnes Retire Oct 20, 2025

Show notes

Erin Foley breaks down what's happening across women's sports this week. It's a season of goodbyes in the NWSL. Christen Press, Lu Barnes, and Ali Riley step away from the game, while the playoff picture heats up with one spot left between Racing Louisville and North Carolina. Plus, shout-outs to Natalie Grabow, the oldest woman ever to finish an Ironman WC along with the U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team, who pulled off a reverse sweep over Brazil for World Cup gold.

The USWNT returns to action this week with matches vs. Portugal in Chester, PA (Thursday) and East Hartford, CT (Sunday). Enjoy!

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

NWSL: https://www.nwslsoccer.com/schedule/regular-season

USWNT: https://www.ussoccer.com/teams/uswnt

Natalie Grabow: https://people.com/80-year-old-grandmother-becomes-oldest-ironman-finisher-11831903

USA Volleyball Sitting National Team: https://usavolleyball.org/womens-sitting-national-team/

EP 318: Author Clelia Castro-Malaspina Oct 16, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley welcomes Clelia Castro-Malaspina, a children's and YA author, literary agent, and founder of Mossy Pines Creative. Her new book Girls with Goals: How Women's Soccer Took Over the World explores the rise of women's football from its humble and embattled origins to its global dominance today.

Foley and Castro-Malaspina discuss how women's soccer evolved from a banned pastime to a global powerhouse, the game's early trailblazers, its biggest turning points, and how their fight for equality continues to shape the sport today.

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

Clelia: IG: https://www.instagram.com/mossypinesclelia/?hl=en

EP 317: WNBA FINALS GAMES 3 + 4 RECAP Oct 13, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley breaks down what's happening across women's sports this week. The Las Vegas Aces complete a sweep of the Phoenix Mercury to capture the WNBA title. Plus, Coco Gauff wins the Wuhan Open, the NWSL playoff race heats up, Serena Williams' manifestation habit and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price gets her crown. Enjoy!

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

Athletes Unlimited Volleyball: https://auprosports.com/volleyball/

NWSL: https://www.nwslsoccer.com/schedule/regular-season

Athlos: https://www.athlos.com/

EP 316: Sports Agent Emily Jo Roberts Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley welcomes Emily Jo Roberts, the Director of Women's Coaches and NIL Strategy at Wasserman, one of the most influential sports agencies in the world. A former college basketball coach turned player advocate, she now helps guide the careers of top women's coaches and student-athletes navigating the fast-evolving world of NIL and athlete branding.

Foley and Roberts discuss how today's female coaches and athletes are navigating the shifting landscape of NIL, revenue sharing, and Title IX. The conversation addresses how power, opportunity, and equity are being redefined in real time.

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

Emily Jo Roberts IG: https://www.instagram.com/emilyjoroberts_/?hl=en

EP 315: WNBA FINALS GAMES 1 + 2 RECAP Oct 06, 2025

Show notes

Erin Foley breaks down what's happening across women's sports this week. Aces take a 2-0 lead against the Mercury, Dana Evans shines, Wilson-Gray-Young triangle of joy. Plus, Amanda Anisimova wins the China Open, NCAA Volleyball - Nebraska stays undefeated, Stanford falls. Buckle up, it's the last three weeks of the NWSL regular season and Athlos (track and field) takes over New York City. Enjoy!

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

NCAA Volleyball: https://www.ncaa.com/sports/volleyball-women/d1

Athletes Unlimited Volleyball: https://auprosports.com/volleyball/

NWSL: https://www.nwslsoccer.com/schedule/regular-season

Athlos: https://www.athlos.com/

EP 314: Softball Hall of Famer Michele Smith (Best of) Jul 08, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley welcomes softball icon Michele Smith! This episode was originally recorded in 2019 and it was an instant classic! Michele is a legendary softball pitcher and trailblazing broadcaster. A two-time Olympic gold medalist, she helped lead Team USA to victories in Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000), dominating with a combined 0.51 ERA and 60 strikeouts across 41.2 innings. Smith also captured three ISF World Championships and two Pan American Games golds.

At Oklahoma State University from 1986 to 1989, she compiled an 82–20 record, earned two NFCA First-Team All-American honors, and set numerous school and conference records—all after overcoming a devastating arm injury in 1986.

Since 1998, Smith has been ESPN's lead college softball analyst, and in 2012, she broke new ground as the first woman to commentate a nationally televised MLB game. She was inducted into the USA Softball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Foley and Smith discuss her fight to get the sport back in the Olympics, her playing days in Japan, career highs and lows, commentating for ESPN and how nobody should ever swing at a rise ball. Enjoy!

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

Athletes Unlimited Softball League: https://theausl.com/

EP 313: Journalist & Author Jane McManus Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

Host Erin Foley welcomes Jane McManus, a distinguished sports journalist, author, and educator. She currently serves as an adjunct professor at NYU's Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport. McManus spent nearly a decade at ESPN, covering the NFL and as a columnist for espnW. She also hosted two ESPN Radio shows and was a frequent analyst for SportsCenter.

Her work has appeared in Newsday, The New York Times, USA Today and recently authored The Fast Track: Inside the Surging Business of Women's Sports, a book that explores the economic growth and cultural impact of women's athletics.

And most importantly, she skated with Suburbia Roller Derby under the pseudonym Leslie E. Visserate for 7 years, retiring in 2014.

Foley & McManus discuss the scope of her book, her writing process, the investment and media coverage surrounding women's sports, and of course, her Roller derby days.

Follow Erin on Social! Instagram: @erinkfoley Bluesky: @erinfoleycomic.bsky.social

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@erinfoleycomic

Email the show: erin@herlights.com

Jane McManus on IG: @janesports

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