What Happens When Democrats in San Francisco Call Up Republicans in Texas? It’s Pretty Cordial

After several weeks and around 200 recorded conversations, a Colorado-based tech startup has insight into whether people living in two politically different places, San Francisco and Abilene, Texas, could put aside differences and try to find common ground.

“What ended up happening was quite beautiful and affirming,” said Ben Goldhirsh, the chairman and co-founder of Matter Neuroscience.

Its experiment, “The Party Line,” consisted of two modified pay phones. One, painted red, was planted outside Black Serum Tattoo in San Francisco’s Mission District, with a sign reading “Call A Republican.” The other pay phone, painted blue, was stationed outside Seven and One Books in Abilene, with a sign that read “Call A Democrat.”

When callers pick up the receiver of one pay phone, it rings the other. If someone is around on that end to pick up, those callers instantly connect.

“If we set up phone booths in the reddest city and in the bluest city, will people choose to fight if they pick up the phone and talk to each other?” Goldhirsh said of the idea. “Or will they choose to find common ground?”

He said that none of the calls affiliated with “The Party Line” have been negative. His company’s mission is to try to help people lead more emotionally balanced lives. (Several studies have established a link between social isolation and depression, whereas social connection has been shown to be beneficial for physical and mental health.)

With the pay phones slated for removal on Wednesday, Feb. 18, he said the experiment has left behind a trove of recordings that provide an optimistic outlook in the face of polling that the U.S. is increasingly divided politically, and that Americans are pessimistic about whether the country can overcome its divisions.

In Abilene, a town with an estimated population of over 130,000, over 80% of voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. By comparison, a similar percentage of San Franciscans voted for Kamala Harris.

“ Honestly, everybody who has used it has come in and said that it was amazing,” said Arlene Kasselman, the owner of Seven and One Books in Abilene. “When you hear a voice, you are reminded that it’s a human. It’s not a keyboard warrior on Facebook spouting something that you would never say to somebody in person.”

Kasselman said she overheard one conversation that immediately focused on the issue of immigration in the U.S.

“ There was an acknowledgement that they didn’t have all the answers,” she said. “That, to me, is a gateway to civil discourse.”

The recorded conversations have ranged from small talk about the weather and the price of food to bigger issues, like the cost of housing.

“ It’s not going to fix everything, but it’s cool to have good talks with people from different parts of the country and try and get to know each other,” said Christopher Renfro, who works near the San Francisco pay phone and said he has used it multiple times. “Hopefully, people will start to learn to accept each other and just hold space for each other.”

For others, like Maria Gonzalez of San Francisco, conversations on “The Party Line” reminded them of navigating politics with loved ones.

“It’s a work in progress, but I just don’t like the divisiveness,” said Gonzalez, who disagrees with her uncle over his support of President Trump. “ So we have these discussions every time we speak, and I’m just hoping that we can be a little open-minded to each other’s ways of thinking.”

According to Goldhirsh, while the experiment is ending in its current form, Matter Neuroscience is looking to repurpose it to connect people of different communities. He said that future iterations could link a senior center and a college cafeteria, or countries outside of the U.S.

“ We really benefit when we benefit others,” Goldhirsh added.