This San Francisco phone lets you call a Texas Republican
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An enticing proposition — would you pick up the phone? Photo: Nadia Lopez/Axios
A new social experiment in San Francisco is using pay phones to link locals with Texans, in the hopes of fostering direct conversations across the blue state-red state divide.
The big picture: The setup, featuring a "Call a Republican" sign, is run by the biotech startup Matter Neuroscience, and encourages friendly conversation rather than polarized debate, while demonstrating that people separated by geography and politics can still find common ground.
- It also seeks to help people understand the "molecular background to happiness and in particular the impact of vitriol versus the value of finding common ground," company spokesperson Beth Stone told Axios.
State of play: Dubbed "The Party Line," users have reported chats ranging from vast topics like jobs, Cybertrucks and daily life to reflections on identity and political labels, often without hostility.
How it works: The San Francisco phone is placed outside Black Serum Tattoo on Valencia Street, with its Texan counterpart sitting next to a bookstore in Abilene.
- Anyone who picks up the bright red pay phone can participate. When someone picks one up, it automatically rings the other. Callers are not given prompts or topics. Conversations are unmoderated, though may be recorded to track the progress of the experiment.
What they're saying: "Our findings from the initiative so far are that people are open and thoughtful when given the opportunity to find connection over animosity," Stone said.
Between the lines: One conversation recorded by the San Francisco Chronicle involved an employee from Studio Aurora on Valencia Street and a correctional officer in Abilene, who shared insights about his work and a date he was on that day.
- "It's been really encouraging to see how quickly people connect over a shared interest or experience and how deep some of the conversations go in just a few minutes," Stone said.
My thought bubble: I attempted to participate in the project and called the phone several times to no avail!
- Perhaps folks in Abilene were too busy with their day to participate. Alas, I shall keep trying.
The bottom line: While it's not a fix for our nation's current political fissures in an era of online polarization, this low-tech project bets on direct phone calls to spark empathy and understanding between people with different political backgrounds.