At the beginning of every month, a different Dispatch staffer fields questions from members and compiles his or her answers in a mailbag a few weeks later. This month, it was SCOTUSblog managing editor Kelsey Dallas’ turn. To ensure you’re able to submit questions for June’s Mailbag, click below to become a full Dispatch member.

Thanks for the great questions! Let’s dive in. 

WBM: Do you have a favorite story, or type of story, to cover? What are the downsides to covering the religion beat?

My favorite type of story to write is an explainer, in which I unpack a complicated issue and make it easier to understand. Explainers are often structured as a series of questions and answers, and they help readers quickly catch up on the context behind something in the news. I like this type of project because it plays to my strengths (researching and summarizing) and makes it so that more people can participate in important debates. 

As to your second question, what makes covering religion difficult (although I’m not sure it’s fair to call this a downside) is that it’s incredibly complex. There are many different religions, many different faith groups within a single religion, and many different interpretations of each group’s teachings and practices. I still cringe thinking about times when I wrote about a religious holiday or faith-related policy debate and missed some of the nuances just because I interviewed three people instead of six (or six instead of 10!) 

I like to say that the main thing I learned at Yale Divinity School is how much I don’t know about religion. This humility made me a better religion reporter, but it wore on me over time. Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty I don’t know about the Supreme Court and legal world, but I’m more confident about where to turn for answers. 

Aylene Wright: Fascinating CV, Kelsey! First of all, I do wonder, are you yourself a member of the predominant faith of Deseret News subscribers, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka the Mormon church? If not, what were the challenges of covering religious stories about a faith that wasn’t your own? 

Does your experience on the religion beat now help you on your current beat? I assume it does when the court takes up cases related to religion. But how about other cases?

I’m not a Latter-day Saint and, as far as I know, did not meet a Latter-day Saint until I went to grad school. But my lack of knowledge about the church was not a problem when I interviewed for a job at the Deseret News, because they were looking for a religion reporter to cover essentially everything BUT the LDS church. (There was already a reporter assigned to that beat.) I sometimes added references to LDS church history into stories about broader religious themes, but my (Latter-day Saint) editors would help me with that. As you noted, Latter-day Saints comprise a significant portion of the Deseret News’ readership, and I really enjoyed writing for an audience of people who took faith seriously and were passionate about legal issues related to religious freedom. 

Speaking of religious freedom, you’re right that what I learned at the Deseret News while covering religion cases serves me well now that I’m at SCOTUSblog. But to be clear, it serves me well across the board, because Supreme Court cases involve the same types of briefs (and same formatting within the briefs) no matter what legal question they raise. In other words, I learned to speak the Supreme Court’s language while covering religion cases, but I can use those same language skills when covering cases about immigration law, pesticide labels, or the postal service.

Chipwatkins: Did you live in Utah? If so, why did you move to Madison?

John Williamsen: As a born and raised Wisconsinite, I’m interested in why you chose Madison as home. 

Yes, I lived in Utah for eight years, from 2014 to 2022. I moved there for a Deseret News internship and stayed when Deseret offered me a full-time job. About a year later, in April 2015, I met my husband, Mike, who had moved to Utah in high school from the Midwest and then stuck around for college and the start of his financial career. 

Mike and I both loved our jobs in Utah, but it never really felt like home. We weren’t as outdoorsy as typical residents, and we also weren’t members of the LDS Church, which was the center of many of our neighbors’ lives. After having our first son, we became less and less satisfied with short trips to see loved ones in Illinois. 

What finally pushed us to get serious about moving was a summer road trip through Nebraska. I remember being so happy to see green grass; it made me realize that I was sick of living in the desert, where the grass is brown for much of the year. Mike began applying to a variety of jobs within two or three hours of our families and got an offer from a company in the Madison area. Even though we knew next to nothing about the city, we did know we loved the Wisconsin Badgers and Green Bay Packers, and that was enough for us. 

We’re still not as outdoorsy as most of our neighbors, but we’ve fallen in love with this area over the past four years. More importantly, we are now close enough to both of our families that we see them almost once a month. 

JohnM.: What are the downsides (if any) to working remotely? 

There are definitely downsides! First and foremost, I am never more than a few steps away from my “office,” and that blurs the line between my work life and home life. I regularly respond to emails or dive back into writing projects while cooking dinner or after my kids’ bedtimes, and, in general, it’s hard for me to shut down the part of my brain that worries about upcoming deadlines. 

I also miss the small talk and casual celebrations that come with office life, like joining a colleague for a quick lunch or sharing donuts for someone’s birthday. Sure, the silence of my house helps me focus, but it can also get lonely. I try to work from a coffee shop once or twice a week to get my fill of noise and chaos. 

Jacob Barger: What are the best parts of live blog days on SCOTUSblog, and what parts do you find most challenging?

My answer here is related to my answer about the tough parts of remote work: I love live blog days because they’re an opportunity to interact with lots and lots of people! Our SCOTUSblog live bloggers are smart, curious, and funny, and it’s a joy to both learn from them and help them understand the court’s work. 

The most challenging part of live blog days is that I have to wear many different hats. I am helping to lead the conversation, posting about new opinions on SCOTUSblog’s social media accounts, updating SCOTUSblog’s case pages, and watching for tech issues on our website and live blogging service—all at the same time. 

If you’re reading this and have never taken part in an opinion day live blog, plan to join us for one in June! You can find information about upcoming chats on this page. 

H.W.: I’d like to know why you can’t quit watching reality TV. Do you view it as a guilty pleasure or do you watch it unabashedly? 

I don’t think of reality TV as a guilty pleasure. I think of it as a hobby and conversation starter. Many of my friends watch the same shows and we discuss them, and I also listen to podcasts that bring the shows into conversation with cultural trends. 

Come to think of it, my relationship with reality TV is very similar to my relationship with sports. Both are enjoyable to watch, and both are fun to talk about after the fact. 

J. Eric: Do you have any pets?

Yes, some (including my parents) might say I actually have too many pets. 

Mike had a cat (Marvin) when we met, and then we adopted another cat (Gus) together a few months later because we were worried about Marvin being lonely. Marvin is very mellow and cuddly, while Gus is slightly insane, especially when you have food that he wants. 

A year after we adopted Gus, Mike surprised me with our first dog, a chihuahua mix named Cheeto. She is my little shadow and is extremely anxious. A few years ago, she had to have some of her bottom teeth removed, and now her tongue hangs out of the gap when she sleeps. 

And finally, in 2019, we adopted another chihuahua mix (Franklin) when I was trying to get pregnant and needed something to focus on besides pregnancy tests. He became my second shadow, much to my husband’s chagrin. (It’s okay, Mike. We both know you’re Marvin’s favorite.)

Thanks for reading this month’s Mailbag! To ensure you’re able to ask questions of podcast and video editor Peter Bonaventure next month, become a member today.