Short questions with Dana Perino

You've seen us on screen, but have you ever wondered what we're like off-camera? 

For the last few months, I’ve enjoyed checking in with some of your favorite Fox personalities to learn more about who they are behind the scenes. 

What's the one thing Jesse Watters couldn’t live without? What's Bill Hemmer’s favorite Halloween costume? And what's sitting on Greg Gutfeld’s nightstand? 

But that's not all! The fun is just getting started.

This week we're excited to shine the spotlight on Brian Kilmeade, the co-host of "Fox & Friends" (weekdays 6-9 AM/ET) alongside Steve Doocy and Ainsley Earhardt. He is also the host of "One Nation with Brian Kilmeade" (Saturdays 8-9 PM/ET). 

Additionally, he serves as host of "The Brian Kilmeade Show" (weekdays 9 AM-12 PM/ET), a nationally syndicated three-hour radio program on Fox News Audio. He is also the host of "What Made America Great" and "America: Great from the Start" on Fox Nation. He is also the author of multiple New York Times bestselling books.

P.S. We have so much more in store for you. Stay tuned each week for new editions of "Short Questions with Dana Perino" — and if there’s a question you want answers to or a suggestion for the person I should interview next, leave a note in the comments section below! 

This week, Dana Perino asks a few "short questions" of Brian Kilmeade — who reveals how he finds the time to write books and why he's optimistic about the future of the country.  (Fox News)

Q: Everyone is dying to know: How much sleep do you need to function? And do you ever take naps?

BK: I sleep about four hours a night — sometimes sleep about 10 to 20 minutes on the train home.

Q: How do you take your coffee? How many a day?

BK: Two coffees a day. Latte in morning, shaken espresso in afternoon. 

Q: Best go-to snack in commercial breaks?

BK: Don’t snack.

Q: Favorite age group for coaching soccer?

BK: Twelve-year-olds. They just start travel, play on big field, 11 v. 11. Parents don't yet think their kid is getting a full ride to Georgetown.

Q: How do you do all the research for your history books?

BK: Do everything possible to go where they walked and lived, to the libraries that keep their legacies alive, talk to the people in and around their life story who care the most. They often lead me to the best sources and the ones that are really accurate.

"Do everything possible to go where they walked and lived, to the libraries that keep their legacies alive …"

Love to find living family members or relatives — read everything I can. Go to the Library of Congress for photos, read everything — almost all can be done online. Pull out the quotes that move me, then try to find the underreported or recorded moments that mean the most to the country and our history as it applies today.

Q: When do you find time to write the books? 

BK: Do it in chunks. Up until I got the Saturday show, usually around 12:45-4 p.m., weekends. First the 2-pagers, then the chapters, then the chapter summaries, then to editor. One by one, I make my way through.

Q: What’s your next book subject?

BK: "Teddy and Booker T.: How Two American Icons Blazed a Path for Racial Equality" (out this fall). 

Q: Where do you want to travel with your family?

BK: Italy, then Ireland, then Australia!

"I stop trying to pretend I don't enjoy reading the news. So I do — but I tone it down."

Q: On family vacations, do you chill or do you make everyone get up early and go on adventures?

BK: I stop trying to pretend I don't enjoy reading the news. So I do — but I tone it down. Usually take a break the first couple of days, but invariably something happens during any break and at some point I feel bad I can’t cover. 

Q: What’s the last song you listened to?

BK: "So Lonely" by the Police. 

Q: Who would win the argument about the best country music — you or Dagen McDowell?

BK: Always Dagen. Too smart and sassy for any clear-thinking American. 

"I think loving our history and our country will soon be cool again."

Q: Are you optimistic about the future of the country — and why/why not?

BK: Yes, I am optimistic. I think things go in cycles. Think people are tired of being disillusioned. Think Trump made people so crazy they blamed everything on him, from their SAT scores to the pandemic. Now they see their life problems and triumphs moved on without him and will be begging to take responsibility for their own lives. 

Also, I think loving our history and our country will soon be cool again.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

To read all of Dana Perino's earlier "Short Questions" interviews for Fox News Digital, check out this (long) list!

For her interview with Kennedy, click here. 

For her interview with John Roberts, click here. 

For her interview with Janice Dean, click here. 

For her interview with Charles Payne, click here. 

For her interview with Trey Gowdy, click here. 

For her interview with Johnny "Joey" Jones, click here. 

For her interview with Bill Melugin, click here. 

For her interview with Jimmy Failla, click here. 

For her interview with Tyrus, click here. 

For her interview with Ainsley Earhardt, click here. 

For her interview with Lawrence Jones, click here. 

For her interview with Dr. Arash Akhavan, click here. 

For her interview with Martha MacCallum, click here. 

For her interview with Bret Baier, click here. 

For her interview with Kayleigh McEnany, click here.

For her interview with Harold Ford Jr., click here. 

For her interview with Shannon Bream, click here. 

For her interview with Jessica Tarlov, click here.

For her interview with Leo Terrell, click here.

For her interview with Geraldo Rivera, click here. 

For her interview with Clay Travis, click here.

For her interview with Bill Hemmer, click here. 

For her interview with Greg Gutfeld, click here. 

For her interview with Benjamin Hall, click here. 

For her interview with Judge Jeanine Pirro, click here.

For her interview with Jesse Watters, click here.