A podcast season ends, a new co-host begins

Air Force veteran and multimedia journalist Stacy Pearsall debuts as co-host of the award-winning American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast in this week’s new episode featuring an Olympic champion sharpshooter.

Pearsall was behind the mic recently with co-host Ashley Gutermuth as they interviewed Lanny Bassham, a former Army sharpshooter, Olympic Gold medalist and founder of Mental Management Systems.

Bassham says a mental failure caused him to fall short of his goal to win the Gold Medal in rifle shooting at the 1972 Olympic Games. After trying to take a course in controlling the mind under pressure, Bassham began interviewing Olympic gold medalists to discover what they were doing differently to win.

That led Bassham to win the Gold Medal in 1976, as well as earning 22 world titles, and creating a system of mental control, Mental Management. In the past four decades, he has taught Mental Management to clients including Navy SEALs, the FBI, the United States Secret Service, PGA tour players and Olympic athletes from at least eight different nations.

After this episode, the podcast is taking a holiday break. The new season will kick off in early January. Until then, you can revisit the more than 200 Tango Alpha Lima episodes.

Meet Tango Alpha Lima co-host Stacy Pearsall

Pearsall began her career as an Air Force combat photographer using film and now produces a video series for PBS where she documents the lives of veterans. As a veteran, journalist and lifetime member of The American Legion, she is a perfect fit to co-host the Tango Alpha Lima podcast. Here are five questions with Pearsall:

Tell us about your combat deployments.

My first real combat deployment was in 2003. I was documenting medical evacuation and resupply missions on C-17 combat sorties from Ramstein to Baghdad. Later that year I was assigned to cover ground-force and helicopter operations in and around Baghdad. I was injured the first time after my Humvee was struck by an IED. I rehabbed for a stint before being accepted at Syracuse University, where I studied journalism. Upon course completion, I volunteered to go back to the 1st Combat Camera Squadron. Of course I had several more overseas temporary assignments before deploying back to Iraq in 2007. I was assigned to FOB Warhorse in Diyala Province. It was there I suffered another combat trauma, which ended my career.

Describe the film-to-digital evolution for you, as a storyteller.

I started learning photography using black-and-white and color slide film – a medium that is unforgiving. You really had to know what you’re doing. In the digital age, where most smartphones have intuitive cameras built in, one can snap a pic and it will likely be decent. However, using a dedicated camera, digital or otherwise, still requires skill. For professional photojournalists like me, there’s still an ethical obligation to the public too. While everyone has a camera in their cellphones, very few people understand the power it holds. The pictures that are shared, how they’re captured, how they’re edited, may all influence how the viewer interprets the information.

Can you give us an update on your PBS series about veterans?

“After Action” is a TV series I host on PBS where I sit down with three new veterans every episode to discuss topics important to the veteran community. Season 1 premiered on Veterans Day 2022 and was well received by veterans and non-veterans alike. From the beginning I knew if we could touch one life – one veteran or a loved one of a veteran who may be struggling – that it was worth it. I’m thrilled to say Season 2 will hit PBS beginning in May.

What interested you in co-hosting the podcast?

It’s a natural fit considering all I do within the veteran community already, and the podcast has such a diverse cast of guests. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet and chat with them.

What will you bring to the podcast that’s new?

I hope to offer a fresh perspective and ask questions others might not. I will draw from my own experiences and more than 8,500 other veterans I’ve met and interviewed through the years. Plus, my service dog, Charlie, will be by my side, and who doesn’t like dogs?