I recently interviewed NBC Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd as part of a series of interviews with my WH colleagues on a range of topics related to journalism, such as the effect of opinion media on White House briefings and the relative merits of Twitter.

As a hopeless pop-culture junkie, my favorite question is the one related to their embarrassing TV-watching habits. Granted, covering the White House leaves little time for recreational TV, but the range of answers to this question has been disappointingly narrow.

They either don't watch TV (yeah, right), watch whatever their kids watch, or watch "American Idol." (The statute of limitations for being embarrassed about "Idol" ran out years ago.)

Chuck is a notable exception. After an attempt at the "kid's shows" gambit, he fesses up to some polarizing likes and dislikes. After the jump, find out why this is such a burning question, and watch Chuck's answer to it.


The fashionable attitude about TV is that it's a brain-sucking waste of time. While there's a certain amount of truth to that, it is also the common denominator in almost every American life. The examination of its influence might seem frivolous on the surface, but I believe that an understanding of popular culture is crucial to remaining in touch with any audience.

Plus, I just plain like teevee. It's a challenge to find time for non-news programming, but I also think it's important to be able to turn the political brain off for awhile, then approach it with a fresh pair of eyes.

I don't know if Chuck Todd has over-thought this like I have, but he rises to the challenge of a TV talk that you might hear at any water cooler in America.

Tommy Christopher is Asylum's White House correspondent. He once asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about "V."