The doctor is in the podcast studio

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy is the special guest on this week’s episode of The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast, co-hosted by Ashley Gutermuth and Stacy Pearsall.

Murthy talked about how he has prioritized mental wellness and identified loneliness and isolation as predictors of depression and suicidal ideation.

Acknowledging his own struggles with mental health, Murthy complimented The American Legion for allocating and promoting resources aimed at fostering connection, community and camaraderie.

“Mental health is health,” he said. “And there should be no shame in asking for help.”

Murthy praised The American Legion for initiating regular wellness checks on veterans.

“What we really need more of in the world is to show up for one another, to check on one another and to remind each other that we're, in fact, not alone,” he said. “This is a time when a lot of people are just not feeling that way. And this is one of the reasons I really appreciate the Buddy Check program that you have helped organize. It helps people understand that something as simple as checking on your buddy can be incredibly powerful at a time when so many people are struggling with a sense of loneliness and isolation.”

Murthy also talked about his 5-for-5 Connection Challenge, which began on college campuses and last month evolved to a national effort. “It is where we challenge people to take five actions of connections over five days.” Those could include reaching out to someone, asking for help or expressing gratitude to someone.

Additionally, Gutermuth and Pearsall also:

• Clarify a misunderstanding from Grunt4Life in “Troll Patrol.” There are 16 billion reasons why The American Legion has the backs of all veterans. Even you, Grunt for Life.

• Cover why spiders have paws.

• Explain how humans can regrow their ribs.

• Discuss getting help for homeless veterans.

Check out this week’s episode, which is among more than 210 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.