Two refurbished payphones — one outside a tattoo shop in San Francisco and one near a bookstore in Abilene, Texas — are connecting callers across political divides as an experiment by Matter Neuroscience. Signs on the phones encourage civil conversation and reference research on cortisol and feel-good neurotransmitters. ABC7 monitored several calls that ranged from talk about Tesla's Cybertruck to party identification. The project records conversations and may publish selected calls online around the end of January.
Dialing Across The Divide: Payphones Link San Francisco And Abilene To Foster Civil Conversation
The project hopes to bridge the political divide.Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Corbis/Getty Images(Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Corbis/Getty Images)
Two refurbished payphones — one outside a tattoo parlor in San Francisco's Mission District and the other near a bookstore in downtown Abilene, Texas — are connecting strangers across political lines as part of an experiment by Boulder-based Matter Neuroscience.
How The Project Works
Matter Neuroscience repurposed old payphones purchased online and installed them outside Black Serum Tattoo in San Francisco and near Seven and One Books in Abilene. Each handset carries a sign explaining that callers will be connected to someone from a different part of the political spectrum and inviting civil, curiosity-driven conversation.
The sign on the San Francisco phone reads: 'The goal for this project is for people from different places to have a meaningful conversation and enjoy common humanity. Research shows the core molecules associated with happiness are the same in all human brains, regardless of political identity.' It adds that hostile discourse can raise cortisol (stress), while positive conversations can lower cortisol and increase feel-good neurotransmitters such as dopamine and cannabinoids.
Voices From Both Cities
ABC7 San Francisco listened to several calls. In one exchange, Berkeley resident Milo Duhamel asked an Abilene caller about a passing Cybertruck, prompting a discussion about self-driving technology rather than partisan politics. Duhamel described the moment as 'not really anything political... but kind of interesting to see what’s going on over there.'
In another call, Duhamel's father, Sai, asked whether his Abilene counterpart considered himself a staunch Republican. The respondent said he identified with the Green Party and was even thinking about switching to the Peace and Freedom party, illustrating how conversations often stray from simple partisan labels.
Purpose And Reactions
Matter Neuroscience co-founder Ben Goldhirsh told ABC7 the aim is to test whether a low-barrier opportunity to talk with someone holding different views can foster understanding. 'I think our thesis is that humans are pretty awesome and — if given the opportunity — will really look to find common ground because biologically that actually gives us a lot more happiness,' Goldhirsh said.
Arlene Kasselman, owner of Seven and One Books, said the phones have generated excitement locally. 'People are excited. I think the opportunity to have civil discourse in a time where there’s so much polarization is important,' she told ABC7.
Matter Neuroscience said the conversations are being recorded and that some calls are expected to be shared online around the end of January. The Guardian has reached out to the group for comment.
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