What are you reading?

One is Vince Flynn's "Act of Treason," the Mitch Rapp series. ... (Mitch Rapp) makes Jack Bower look like a Boy Scout wimp. It's a good, page-turning trashy novel. It's all very well written, all Washington spy, CIA stuff. ... The one before that was Bill Bryson's "Shakespeare: The World As Stage." Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. He wrote "A Short History of Nearly Everything," which is one of the greatest books I've ever read. He's a very talented writer and has a great knack for making incomprehensible things reasonably comprehensible. ... The third book I just started is "Economic Facts and Fallacies" by Thomas Sowell ... a great writer who has the ability to make some really incomprehensible economic things comprehensible, which I think is one of the real lightly taught subjects that should be better taught in America.

What do you like about these different stories?

For various reasons I just want something I'll have fun reading. Bill Bryson's books always make me smile because he has a good sense of humor. The Vince Flynn books are just pure escape; if you're stressed out you have to read a Vince Flynn book because all of a sudden you're a spy and don't have to worry about anything. And the Sowell book just teaches you stuff.

You're known for being very perceptive and informed, so does reading Sowell's and Bryson's books help you better make the incomprehensible comprehensible on your show?

You've got to look at all sides of things, which is something I'm always down on mainstream media about because it's almost like a monolith. There's no attempt at balance. I really don't like that. There are always two sides to a story, and you have to read to find it out sometimes.