WEBVTT - Are Pay Phones Making a Comeback?

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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope

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<v Speaker 1>and iHeartRadio. Guess what, kid?

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<v Speaker 2>What's that Mango?

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<v Speaker 1>Did you know that one of the first things to

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<v Speaker 1>go viral on the Internet was a payphone in the

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<v Speaker 1>Mojave Desert?

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so was this before or after that a flying

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<v Speaker 2>toaster screensaver that everybody was going nuts over.

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<v Speaker 1>That is so long ago. This was after the toasters,

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<v Speaker 1>but before the Hamster Dance.

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<v Speaker 2>I got it, I got my bearings now, So what

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<v Speaker 2>was so special about this payphone?

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing? Really, It was just random and this super isolated

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<v Speaker 1>payphone that was in the middle of the Mojave National Preserve.

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<v Speaker 1>But for this brief moment in nineteen ninety sive and

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<v Speaker 1>it completely captivated the online community, and thousands of people

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<v Speaker 1>started trekking out to the desert just to see this

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<v Speaker 1>payphone and of course to call up their friends from

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<v Speaker 1>the middle of nowhere, which I just love so much.

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<v Speaker 1>And the person who brought this to everyone's attention was

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<v Speaker 1>a guy named Godfrey Daniels who stumbled upon a mention

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<v Speaker 1>of the phone in an underground zine.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, so this guy sparked an online craze about a

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<v Speaker 2>payphone after reading about it in a zine that might

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<v Speaker 2>be the most nineties thing I've ever heard.

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<v Speaker 1>I know. But Daniels got obsessed with the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>this payphone in the middle of a desert and all

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<v Speaker 1>the mysterious people who might be using it. So, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he wanted to satisfy that curiosity, so he started calling

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<v Speaker 1>the phone over and over, using the number he'd gotten

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<v Speaker 1>from that zine article, and he later told reporters quote,

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<v Speaker 1>I was just imagining making a phone ring out where

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<v Speaker 1>presumably no one could hear it except the coyotes. But

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<v Speaker 1>then there was also in the back of the mind

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<v Speaker 1>that thought that what if, like what if someone is

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<v Speaker 1>wandering by?

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<v Speaker 3>Who would be out there?

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<v Speaker 1>Who would pick up? Right? So Daniels calls this booth

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<v Speaker 1>every day for a solid month without ever getting an answer,

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<v Speaker 1>But then at last he gets this busy signal, so

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<v Speaker 1>someone's actually using the phone. So he waited a whole minute,

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<v Speaker 1>calls back, and to his delight, somebody finally answers and

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<v Speaker 1>her name was Loreene. She was a local cinder miner

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<v Speaker 1>who lived off grid and used the phone booth to

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<v Speaker 1>make her calls.

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<v Speaker 2>It is so random, but a case closed, right, I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>he figured it out who the clientele was for such

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<v Speaker 2>a remote phone booth. Time to move on, learn the

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<v Speaker 2>macarena or you know whatever else we were all doing that.

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<v Speaker 3>They were doing in the nineties. Well not quite so.

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<v Speaker 1>After making his own pilgrimage to visit the phone in person,

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<v Speaker 1>Daniels made a website, presumably with like geo cities because

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<v Speaker 1>again this is the nineties, right, and he published the

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<v Speaker 1>phone number and address so anyone in the world could

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy his strange discovery. And like I said, people started

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<v Speaker 1>coming in droves to make and receive calls from this

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<v Speaker 1>phone booth. It was really cool at first because visitors

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<v Speaker 1>would just answer the phone and have conversations with total strangers,

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<v Speaker 1>some of whom spoke different languages or were calling from

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<v Speaker 1>the other side of the world. But unfortunately, this drastic

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<v Speaker 1>spike in foot traffic actually created problems for the National

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<v Speaker 1>Park Service because remember the booth was technically inside a

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<v Speaker 1>nature preserve. So after three years of this weird early

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<v Speaker 1>form of internet fuel tourism, the Majave phone booth was

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<v Speaker 1>sadly decommissioned.

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<v Speaker 2>That is a shame for the Taurus, but it feels

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<v Speaker 2>like Loreen is the one who really lost out here,

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<v Speaker 2>like she actually.

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<v Speaker 1>Needed that, you know, she actually needed it. But this

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<v Speaker 1>is right around the time that like cell phones start

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<v Speaker 1>to take off, so I'm sure she had options. But

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<v Speaker 1>for anyone else who's still mourning the loss of the

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<v Speaker 1>Mahave phone booth, there is a silver lining to the story.

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<v Speaker 1>About a decade ago, someone revived the phone booth, at least,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, in spirit, by reinstating the original number, which

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<v Speaker 1>is seven six 's oh seven three three nine nine

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<v Speaker 1>six nine. That's the real number. It is no longer

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<v Speaker 1>tied to a physical phone, but if you call it,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll be placed in a digital conference call, just like

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<v Speaker 1>calling that original phone booth. You have no idea who,

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<v Speaker 1>if anyone, will be waiting on the other end. You

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<v Speaker 1>just dial the number and see what happens.

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<v Speaker 2>I am definitely going to call that, And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it really does hit on one of the peculiar appeals

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<v Speaker 2>of payphones, which is kind of the romance and excitement

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<v Speaker 2>of the anonymity. Right Like you get a call from

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<v Speaker 2>a payphone, or you walk past one that's ringing, there's

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<v Speaker 2>no caller ID to tell you who's on the other end.

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<v Speaker 1>You just have to pick it up and find out. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>there's definitely a thrill. You don't get as much in

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<v Speaker 1>this age of smartphones where everyone screens their calls to

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<v Speaker 1>avoid spam. So today on the show, we're taking a

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<v Speaker 1>trip back to the golden age of payphones. We'll look

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<v Speaker 1>at how they became this integral part of society, why

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<v Speaker 1>they went away, and most importantly, what some folks are

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<v Speaker 1>doing to bring them back.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's dive in. Hey there, podcast listeners.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, in a part time genius, I'm Mungi's articular and

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<v Speaker 1>today I'm joined by my old pal Gabe Luzia and

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<v Speaker 1>on the other side of that soundproof glass rocking a

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<v Speaker 1>vintage one eight hundred collect hoodie I didn't even know

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<v Speaker 1>there was available. That's our friend and producer Dylan Fagan.

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<v Speaker 1>That really takes me back to those commercials where that

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<v Speaker 1>were kind of you know, everywhere in the nineties, right,

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<v Speaker 1>like like Chris Rock did a bunch of them, David Spade,

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<v Speaker 1>mister t Alf got in on the Actually, I'm not sure,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not sure I ever actually called collect from a payphone, Gabe,

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<v Speaker 1>did you actually do that?

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<v Speaker 2>That's where you like reverse the charges, right, so that

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<v Speaker 2>the person you're calling pays for the call.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you would call collect and then you'd have to

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<v Speaker 1>say your name real quick so the person can decide

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<v Speaker 1>whether or not they want to pay to talk to you.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I don't think I officially called collect, right, but

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<v Speaker 2>I definitely did the trick where you shout a message

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<v Speaker 2>in the space where you're supposed to say your name,

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<v Speaker 2>like Mom, I'm at the mall, come pick me up?

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<v Speaker 3>But what about you?

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<v Speaker 2>Like any memorable experiences with payphones growing up?

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<v Speaker 1>My dad lived very close to my high school, so

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<v Speaker 1>when I needed a ride that he would come pick

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<v Speaker 1>me up. It was fairly easy to communicate with him.

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<v Speaker 1>But I remember after like soccer practice or tennis practice,

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<v Speaker 1>kids would always use that trick to like get a

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<v Speaker 1>message across to their parents that they were staying later

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>No one had a quarter or you want to use

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<v Speaker 2>them for like like machines. Of course, Yeah, I'm not

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<v Speaker 2>gonna lays to call on my mom.

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<v Speaker 1>So I love that we're doing this on phone boots.

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<v Speaker 1>You actually came up with the idea. I love that,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, someone like Wes Anderson finds phone boots to

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<v Speaker 1>put in New York just to make his movies seem

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<v Speaker 1>more New york Ish.

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<v Speaker 3>But but like, where do you want to start with this?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean, if we're going to trace you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the rise and fall of payphones, we should probably start

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<v Speaker 2>at the beginning, right, So in this case, that would

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<v Speaker 2>be eighteen eighty eight, just over a decade after the

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<v Speaker 2>invention of the telephone. At the time, owning your own

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<v Speaker 2>phone was an expensive prospect, as not only did you

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<v Speaker 2>have to buy the actual device, you also had to

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<v Speaker 2>pay for a monthly phone subscription.

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<v Speaker 1>Sure, because back then every call had to be manually

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<v Speaker 1>connected by like a switchboard operator, right.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, And this was like a small pool of people

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<v Speaker 2>using this service. And you know, the phone companies had

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<v Speaker 2>to pay those switchboard operators somehow, so monthly service. But

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<v Speaker 2>the high cost of a telephone meant the new technology

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<v Speaker 2>was beyond the reach of most Americans. And that includes

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<v Speaker 2>a man named William Gray. Now he was the son

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<v Speaker 2>of Scottish immigrants, and he lived in Hartford, Connecticut, where

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<v Speaker 2>he worked as a machinery polisher at a local armory.

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<v Speaker 2>He was also an amateur inventor who would eventually find

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<v Speaker 2>success with his design for an improved chest protector for

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<v Speaker 2>baseball catchers.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, kind of a jack of all trades.

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<v Speaker 2>It was all over the map. But you know, in

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen eighty eight, he was not a wealthy man and

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<v Speaker 2>certainly couldn't afford his own phone. And this became a

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<v Speaker 2>problem for Gray when his wife fell ill one day

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<v Speaker 2>and he had no way to call for a doctor. So,

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<v Speaker 2>as the story goes, the desperate husband ran from one

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<v Speaker 2>local business to another asking to use their phone, but

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<v Speaker 2>all of them flat out refused.

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<v Speaker 1>That is really horrible. I'm confused, though, Like, was he

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most hated men in town? Like, why

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<v Speaker 1>was no one letting him use it?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, as you know, people in Connecticut are notorious for

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<v Speaker 2>their prejudice against machinery polishers, So yeah, I think no.

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<v Speaker 2>But thankfully Gray did eventually find a phone to use,

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<v Speaker 2>and his wife made a full recovery. But you know,

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<v Speaker 2>the ordeal had underscored the need for him, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>for some kind of public telephone, one that people could

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<v Speaker 2>pay to use only when needed. And so Gray spent

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<v Speaker 2>the rest of the year tinkering with different prototypes, and

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<v Speaker 2>in eighteen eighty nine he installed the first coin operated

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<v Speaker 2>public payphone inside a bank in downtown Hartford. The device

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<v Speaker 2>had a small bell to alert the operator when a

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<v Speaker 2>coin had been deposited, and you know, so they would

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<v Speaker 2>know to allow the call to go through. And Grey's

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<v Speaker 2>invention was an immediate hit. Two years later, he established

0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.400
<v Speaker 2>his own company and began installing payphones all over the country,

0:11:56.760 --> 0:11:58.760
<v Speaker 2>and by nineteen oh two, the US was home to

0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:01.920
<v Speaker 2>more than eighty one thousand pay phones. So this took

0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:05.520
<v Speaker 2>off pretty quickly, and one hundred years later that number

0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.720
<v Speaker 2>had soared to over two million.

0:12:08.200 --> 0:12:11.839
<v Speaker 1>That is incredible And I really love that origin story, right,

0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:16.880
<v Speaker 1>that desire to solve this public problem. But I assume

0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:19.679
<v Speaker 1>that you know, you're talking about these two million phone boots,

0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:24.520
<v Speaker 1>that these are unenclosed, right, they're like outside, not not

0:12:24.679 --> 0:12:26.800
<v Speaker 1>in the like phone boots we think of today.

0:12:27.160 --> 0:12:29.959
<v Speaker 2>Well, you know, the two million number was both of those, right,

0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.199
<v Speaker 2>So the ones that are just kind of hanging out

0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:33.880
<v Speaker 2>there on the side of the wall and the ones

0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:36.560
<v Speaker 2>that were enclosed in booths. But for the first decade

0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:39.400
<v Speaker 2>or so, you know, payphones were either mounted to poles

0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:42.280
<v Speaker 2>or hung on walls in their own little cabinets, and

0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:46.200
<v Speaker 2>they were always installed indoors to protect them from the elements.

0:12:46.600 --> 0:12:50.080
<v Speaker 2>So the first outdoor payphone that was actually installed on

0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:53.560
<v Speaker 2>a street in Cincinnati in nineteen oh five, so, you know,

0:12:53.640 --> 0:12:57.000
<v Speaker 2>over a decade later, and unfortunately a few people used

0:12:57.000 --> 0:12:58.880
<v Speaker 2>it because you know, it didn't have any walls or

0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:01.920
<v Speaker 2>partitions around it. There were no booth yet, and most

0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:04.720
<v Speaker 2>people balked at the idea of having a private conversation

0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:07.280
<v Speaker 2>right out in public, and that aversion led to the

0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:10.439
<v Speaker 2>creation of the first phone booths shortly after.

0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:13.280
<v Speaker 1>That is so funny to think about privacy that way,

0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.320
<v Speaker 1>the idea that Americans are hesitant to make phone calls

0:13:16.360 --> 0:13:19.959
<v Speaker 1>in public. This week, I was on a bus and

0:13:20.000 --> 0:13:22.080
<v Speaker 1>people were using a speaker phone for us to hear

0:13:22.120 --> 0:13:23.600
<v Speaker 1>both sides of the conversation, and.

0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:25.359
<v Speaker 3>Crazy you hear that everywhere.

0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.640
<v Speaker 1>I mean, it really is funny. I remember thinking it's

0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:31.160
<v Speaker 1>so weird when that sort of became more and more

0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:33.200
<v Speaker 1>the norm, when people were talking on funds outside. But

0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:34.480
<v Speaker 1>what are your thoughts about that?

0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:36.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, whatever scruples we used to have about

0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:40.080
<v Speaker 2>private conversations in public, that is like right out the window.

0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:43.280
<v Speaker 2>The line between public and private life is you know,

0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.360
<v Speaker 2>a lot more blurred than it used to be, and

0:13:45.440 --> 0:13:48.640
<v Speaker 2>in a weird way, phone booths are where that gradual

0:13:48.720 --> 0:13:52.600
<v Speaker 2>blurring first started. Phone booths were a kind of transitional

0:13:52.640 --> 0:13:56.160
<v Speaker 2>space between public and private life. They weren't wholly one

0:13:56.240 --> 0:13:58.520
<v Speaker 2>or the other. Someone in a phone booth was still

0:13:58.559 --> 0:14:01.439
<v Speaker 2>outside on a busy street, but now they were kind

0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:04.240
<v Speaker 2>of cut off from the crowd and the noise, even

0:14:04.280 --> 0:14:07.520
<v Speaker 2>though in those cases they were still plainly visible because

0:14:07.520 --> 0:14:08.360
<v Speaker 2>of the glass.

0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:10.880
<v Speaker 1>I was thinking about this recently because Henry mentioned he

0:14:10.960 --> 0:14:14.520
<v Speaker 1>loved the new Superman movie, and like, how strange it

0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:16.720
<v Speaker 1>is that Clark Kent would run into a phone booth

0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:18.960
<v Speaker 1>where you need to change into Superman, like like, you know,

0:14:19.160 --> 0:14:20.640
<v Speaker 1>everyone can still see him, right.

0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:23.680
<v Speaker 2>But to be fair, this is the guy whose secret

0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:26.960
<v Speaker 2>identity hinges solely on a pair of glasses, So I

0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:29.280
<v Speaker 2>don't think that discretion is really his strong suit.

0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:32.760
<v Speaker 1>Well, regardless, I do see what you're saying about this

0:14:32.880 --> 0:14:37.080
<v Speaker 1>idea of phone boots being this bizarre in between of

0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:40.160
<v Speaker 1>like public and private spaces. I almost think like the

0:14:40.200 --> 0:14:42.960
<v Speaker 1>closest thing we have to that now is sitting in

0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:46.440
<v Speaker 1>a parked car, right, Like that's kind of an idea

0:14:46.440 --> 0:14:47.840
<v Speaker 1>of like being inside and outside.

0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:48.840
<v Speaker 3>But I'm curious.

0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.480
<v Speaker 1>Were phone boots always made of glass or was that

0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:54.960
<v Speaker 1>something that came along later so people wouldn't get too

0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:56.200
<v Speaker 1>comfortable in there? Yeah?

0:14:56.280 --> 0:14:59.360
<v Speaker 2>Right, So the earliest phone boots were mostly made of wood,

0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:01.560
<v Speaker 2>so the only side you could see into was the

0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.640
<v Speaker 2>one with that French folding door that you've probably seen,

0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:06.960
<v Speaker 2>and the one with the two long panes of glass

0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:09.440
<v Speaker 2>on it that was included so people could tell whether

0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:11.920
<v Speaker 2>the phone was in use or not. And wooden phone

0:15:11.920 --> 0:15:15.200
<v Speaker 2>boots looked super classy and you know, afforded users with

0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:18.640
<v Speaker 2>a high level of privacy, but they were also expensive

0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:22.000
<v Speaker 2>to maintain against the constant exposure to sun and rain.

0:15:22.560 --> 0:15:24.680
<v Speaker 2>And the United Kingdom is the one that found a

0:15:24.680 --> 0:15:27.400
<v Speaker 2>better solution to that in the nineteen twenties when it

0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 2>began producing its iconic red telephone boxes. And although the

0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:35.240
<v Speaker 2>initial model for those was made from cumbersome concrete, future

0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:39.080
<v Speaker 2>versions were mass produced with sturdy cast iron frames and

0:15:39.200 --> 0:15:43.240
<v Speaker 2>rows of small glass window panes for maximum visibility. So

0:15:43.320 --> 0:15:46.560
<v Speaker 2>in the post war nineteen fifties, the US followed Britain's

0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:50.160
<v Speaker 2>lead and began replacing its wooden phone booths with sleeker,

0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:54.000
<v Speaker 2>mass produced ones. The new booths featured easy to maintain

0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:57.160
<v Speaker 2>aluminum walls and large glass panes so you could see

0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.640
<v Speaker 2>inside from almost every angle. And the new design made

0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.520
<v Speaker 2>phone booths, you know, much easier to install in service,

0:16:03.880 --> 0:16:06.840
<v Speaker 2>and by the nineteen sixties they had become a ubiquitous

0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:09.600
<v Speaker 2>part of the urban landscape, not only in the US

0:16:09.720 --> 0:16:11.040
<v Speaker 2>but all over the world.

0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:13.360
<v Speaker 1>It's kind of wild when you look at that timeline,

0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:16.360
<v Speaker 1>because you had that big phone booth boom in the

0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:20.120
<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifties and sixties, But then in the early seventies,

0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.760
<v Speaker 1>the seeds of the payphone's downfall were already being planted.

0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.440
<v Speaker 1>The world's first cell phone call and I had to

0:16:26.440 --> 0:16:29.600
<v Speaker 1>look this up, but it was made in nineteen seventy three,

0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:33.240
<v Speaker 1>and the first American cell phone network launches just a

0:16:33.320 --> 0:16:35.920
<v Speaker 1>decade later. It would take another twenty or so years

0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.359
<v Speaker 1>for mobile phones to really go mainstream and push payphones

0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.160
<v Speaker 1>out of the limelight. But once that first call was

0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:44.160
<v Speaker 1>made in the seventies, it really was just a matter

0:16:44.200 --> 0:16:44.600
<v Speaker 1>of time.

0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:48.280
<v Speaker 2>Let's not write the eulogy just yet, Okay, Like, after

0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.520
<v Speaker 2>we take a quick break, we'll find out how cell

0:16:50.560 --> 0:16:53.160
<v Speaker 2>phones muscled out the phone booth, and we'll also talk

0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:56.120
<v Speaker 2>about some places where payphones still reign supreme.

0:16:56.440 --> 0:17:13.679
<v Speaker 4>So don't go away, Welcome back to part time Genius.

0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.240
<v Speaker 1>In just a second, I'm going to tell you about

0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:18.000
<v Speaker 1>the rapid decline of payphones in the twenty first century.

0:17:18.040 --> 0:17:21.760
<v Speaker 1>But first I want to ask you a favor. We've

0:17:21.800 --> 0:17:24.479
<v Speaker 1>got an episode in the works all about milk, and

0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:27.000
<v Speaker 1>we want to know your favorite way to drink it.

0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:27.920
<v Speaker 3>Do you go for a.

0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:30.160
<v Speaker 1>Skim, low fat or whole milk? Do you ever drink

0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:32.880
<v Speaker 1>a full glass of it? And if you prefer your

0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:35.879
<v Speaker 1>mood juice without the mood, what's your non dairy milk

0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:40.600
<v Speaker 1>of choice? Soy, oat, pistachio, almond? You tell us, So

0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:42.800
<v Speaker 1>give us a call on the PTG hotline, leave us

0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:45.919
<v Speaker 1>a voicemail, and we might include your answer in the episode.

0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.680
<v Speaker 1>The number is three oh two, four oh five, five

0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.879
<v Speaker 1>nine two five. We cannot wait to hear from you

0:17:51.920 --> 0:17:54.679
<v Speaker 1>because we've actually like been debating this internally, right.

0:17:54.560 --> 0:17:57.600
<v Speaker 2>Oh wow, right, Like, who is out there drinking a

0:17:57.640 --> 0:17:58.560
<v Speaker 2>full glass of milk.

0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.840
<v Speaker 3>We have to know every night. Yeah, we've heard rumors

0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:03.720
<v Speaker 3>so that people are doing this, so like we definitely

0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:04.440
<v Speaker 3>want Yeah.

0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.120
<v Speaker 2>And in case you're worried, the call is completely free

0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:09.879
<v Speaker 2>unless you dial in from a payphone. But I mean,

0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:11.359
<v Speaker 2>you know, good luck find in one of those.

0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.200
<v Speaker 3>So yeah.

0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:17.000
<v Speaker 1>So actually, on that topic, let's talk about how phone

0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.720
<v Speaker 1>boots are really hard to find these days. We mentioned

0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:22.159
<v Speaker 1>that there were more than two million payphones in the

0:18:22.280 --> 0:18:24.720
<v Speaker 1>US at their peak in the late nineteen nineties, and

0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:27.400
<v Speaker 1>that was because even though cell phone usage was on

0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:31.280
<v Speaker 1>the rise, the devices and service plans were still extremely expensive,

0:18:31.680 --> 0:18:33.720
<v Speaker 1>just like in the early days of landlines, and that

0:18:33.880 --> 0:18:36.200
<v Speaker 1>meant that payphones were still the cheapest way to make

0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.520
<v Speaker 1>calls while away from home. But all of that changed

0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:42.080
<v Speaker 1>at the turn of the century when service providers began

0:18:42.160 --> 0:18:45.439
<v Speaker 1>slashing service rates to lure more customers in and so

0:18:45.640 --> 0:18:47.840
<v Speaker 1>in two thousand and one, Bell South became the first

0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:51.280
<v Speaker 1>major phone company to announce its departure from the payphone business,

0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:54.280
<v Speaker 1>and it reduced the nation's payphone count by nearly one

0:18:54.400 --> 0:18:58.840
<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty thousand units overnight. Wow. Other major companies

0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:01.480
<v Speaker 1>eventually followed suits. Print in two thousand and six, at

0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:03.800
<v Speaker 1>and T in two thousand and eight, and Verizon in

0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:07.560
<v Speaker 1>twenty eleven. And the result was that between two thousand

0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:11.400
<v Speaker 1>and twenty sixteen, most states saw the number of their

0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:14.720
<v Speaker 1>payphones fall by more than ninety percent.

0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.240
<v Speaker 2>My gosh, that is like shockingly steep in such a

0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:20.960
<v Speaker 2>short amount of time. Was this across the board, though,

0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:23.439
<v Speaker 2>because I'd imagine some states you might have more of

0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:24.960
<v Speaker 2>a need for payphones than others.

0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:27.160
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so there were definitely some holdouts.

0:19:27.240 --> 0:19:29.720
<v Speaker 1>New York was one of the examples. In twenty sixteen,

0:19:29.800 --> 0:19:33.440
<v Speaker 1>the state account for one five of the country's remaining payphones.

0:19:33.640 --> 0:19:35.720
<v Speaker 1>Most of them, of course, were located in New York City,

0:19:35.880 --> 0:19:37.880
<v Speaker 1>where you know, you used to be able to find

0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:40.359
<v Speaker 1>one on almost every block. Since then, most of the

0:19:40.480 --> 0:19:44.240
<v Speaker 1>city's former phone booths have been converted into Link NYC kiosks,

0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:48.639
<v Speaker 1>which offer free domestic phone calls public Wi Fi device charging.

0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:50.880
<v Speaker 1>You've seen them, probably like nearbus stops in New York.

0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:52.320
<v Speaker 2>Have you ever used one of those?

0:19:52.359 --> 0:19:56.200
<v Speaker 1>I'm just curious. I haven't, but I've seen people use them,

0:19:56.200 --> 0:19:58.640
<v Speaker 1>and I've seen people charge the phones at them. Yeah,

0:19:58.640 --> 0:20:01.160
<v Speaker 1>it seems pretty handy for that, especially in that era.

0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:03.840
<v Speaker 1>Before and now the buses actually have like a phone

0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:06.720
<v Speaker 1>charging but before that.

0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.760
<v Speaker 2>So even the kiosks are becoming outdated now.

0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:11.639
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, yeah.

0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:15.520
<v Speaker 1>Aside from New York, though, the bigger outlier is Hawaii,

0:20:15.560 --> 0:20:18.240
<v Speaker 1>which I wouldn't have expected. The number of payphones in

0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:21.359
<v Speaker 1>the island state had only dropped by about sixty percent

0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:24.359
<v Speaker 1>in twenty sixteen, so about a third slower than the

0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:27.239
<v Speaker 1>national average. It's not fully clear why that was, but

0:20:27.600 --> 0:20:31.439
<v Speaker 1>experts think it's because of all the international travelers Hawaii gets,

0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.200
<v Speaker 1>and that can mean that, like mobile calls abroad from

0:20:34.320 --> 0:20:38.000
<v Speaker 1>the US can be pricey, so you know, for foreign tourists,

0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:40.160
<v Speaker 1>it's still cheaper to call home on a payphone.

0:20:40.200 --> 0:20:42.560
<v Speaker 2>And so what about today, like how many payphones are

0:20:42.560 --> 0:20:44.800
<v Speaker 2>still left in Hawaii or you know, in the US

0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:45.320
<v Speaker 2>in general.

0:20:45.680 --> 0:20:48.439
<v Speaker 1>That's actually the crazy part. Payphones have become such a

0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:51.960
<v Speaker 1>rarity that the FCC stopped requiring audits of them in

0:20:51.960 --> 0:20:55.400
<v Speaker 1>twenty eighteen. It just wasn't worth the money to count

0:20:55.440 --> 0:20:58.320
<v Speaker 1>them anymore. So, like the last tally found fewer than

0:20:58.359 --> 0:21:00.439
<v Speaker 1>one hundred thousand of them left in the US. But

0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:02.879
<v Speaker 1>you know, since no one's really keeping track, there's a

0:21:02.880 --> 0:21:05.040
<v Speaker 1>strong chance the number is way lower than that.

0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:08.880
<v Speaker 2>Obviously, that's a far cry from two million, but it's

0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:11.679
<v Speaker 2>still a lot of payphones, right, given how infrequently you

0:21:11.760 --> 0:21:12.600
<v Speaker 2>come across one.

0:21:13.600 --> 0:21:13.800
<v Speaker 3>You know.

0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:16.040
<v Speaker 2>That said, though, there is one place I know of

0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:18.439
<v Speaker 2>in the US where you're still bound to find at

0:21:18.560 --> 0:21:20.960
<v Speaker 2>least a few of them in active use, and that's

0:21:21.000 --> 0:21:25.360
<v Speaker 2>inside the National Radio Quiet Zone. So if you've never

0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:28.879
<v Speaker 2>heard of this, it's a thirteen thousand square mile area

0:21:28.960 --> 0:21:33.040
<v Speaker 2>located between Green Bank and sugar Grove, West Virginia, and

0:21:33.080 --> 0:21:38.480
<v Speaker 2>within that zone, wireless signals are completely illegal. So no smartphones,

0:21:38.640 --> 0:21:41.600
<v Speaker 2>no Wi Fi, no microwaves, no nothing.

0:21:42.119 --> 0:21:44.960
<v Speaker 1>You know, I was thinking like maybe there's something like

0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:47.960
<v Speaker 1>comming about that, but I also think like my kids,

0:21:49.200 --> 0:21:52.280
<v Speaker 1>I would think it's their worst nightmare, right, there's nothing

0:21:52.320 --> 0:21:54.240
<v Speaker 1>worse than no, And then for plenty.

0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:58.480
<v Speaker 2>Of adults too, absolutely, But yeah, federal officials established this

0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:01.160
<v Speaker 2>quiet zone back in nineteen fifty eight as a way

0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:04.440
<v Speaker 2>to protect a pair of government radio telescopes from man

0:22:04.480 --> 0:22:07.919
<v Speaker 2>made interference. So the astronomers station there, they use this

0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:11.600
<v Speaker 2>equipment to listen to radio energy that's traveled light years

0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:14.600
<v Speaker 2>across the cosmos. And you know that provides insights on

0:22:14.680 --> 0:22:18.680
<v Speaker 2>how far away stars and galaxies were formed, and since

0:22:18.760 --> 0:22:22.040
<v Speaker 2>signals from outer space are you know, millions or billions

0:22:22.040 --> 0:22:24.920
<v Speaker 2>of times weaker than those from a nearby satellite, they

0:22:24.920 --> 0:22:28.520
<v Speaker 2>can't risk that information being garbled by a stray radio

0:22:28.600 --> 0:22:31.359
<v Speaker 2>signal from somebody's cell phone, and so as a result,

0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:35.480
<v Speaker 2>landlines and payphones are still a necessity for the hundreds

0:22:35.520 --> 0:22:38.320
<v Speaker 2>of thousands of people who call that region home.

0:22:38.960 --> 0:22:41.400
<v Speaker 1>I love this idea of this like kind of protected zone,

0:22:41.400 --> 0:22:44.080
<v Speaker 1>and I also love the idea of like them accidentally

0:22:44.119 --> 0:22:47.400
<v Speaker 1>hearing some sort of like a zoom morning.

0:22:47.119 --> 0:22:51.879
<v Speaker 2>Crews into a star being born in a different galaxy,

0:22:52.000 --> 0:22:54.080
<v Speaker 2>and then it's just somebody you know, asking to pick

0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:55.760
<v Speaker 2>up milk on the way home or whatever.

0:22:57.440 --> 0:22:59.879
<v Speaker 1>So how strictly enforced is all this because I, you know,

0:22:59.880 --> 0:23:02.240
<v Speaker 1>I can't imagine everyone who lives there is happy with

0:23:02.320 --> 0:23:03.080
<v Speaker 1>their radio. Yeah.

0:23:03.200 --> 0:23:05.760
<v Speaker 2>No, There's been a lot of pushback in recent years,

0:23:05.880 --> 0:23:08.960
<v Speaker 2>especially from first responders, because like they're only allowed to

0:23:08.960 --> 0:23:12.400
<v Speaker 2>communicate by short distance CB radios, which you know, makes

0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:15.320
<v Speaker 2>the job a lot harder. And while local officials don't

0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:18.359
<v Speaker 2>have much power to enforce these measures, that's actually the

0:23:18.440 --> 0:23:22.600
<v Speaker 2>job of the FCC. The National Science Foundation does have

0:23:22.720 --> 0:23:26.600
<v Speaker 2>people who patrol the area listening for rogue radio signals.

0:23:26.880 --> 0:23:29.040
<v Speaker 2>So if they catch someone using, you know, an illicit

0:23:29.119 --> 0:23:31.960
<v Speaker 2>smartphone or whatever, all they can do is ask the

0:23:32.000 --> 0:23:34.639
<v Speaker 2>person to turn it off. So this is it's mostly

0:23:34.680 --> 0:23:35.640
<v Speaker 2>on the honor system.

0:23:36.119 --> 0:23:37.959
<v Speaker 1>That is so strange to think about it. It's like

0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:42.240
<v Speaker 1>almost like living in some kind of minimum security tech jail.

0:23:42.920 --> 0:23:45.240
<v Speaker 2>The guards just like politely ask you not to use

0:23:45.280 --> 0:23:50.320
<v Speaker 2>the microwave. But you know, actually speaking of jail, the

0:23:50.359 --> 0:23:53.919
<v Speaker 2>prison system is another place where payphones are still a

0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:57.840
<v Speaker 2>big deal. Studies show the communication between inmates and their

0:23:57.880 --> 0:24:00.320
<v Speaker 2>loved ones that helps to improve their mental health, health

0:24:00.400 --> 0:24:04.680
<v Speaker 2>increases the odds of successfully rejoining society, and payphones are

0:24:04.680 --> 0:24:07.960
<v Speaker 2>oftentimes the easiest way to maintain those connections with the

0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:12.240
<v Speaker 2>outside world. Unfortunately, as you may guess, prison phone calls

0:24:12.280 --> 0:24:15.080
<v Speaker 2>are based on a profit driven model, like those are

0:24:15.119 --> 0:24:19.280
<v Speaker 2>private phones, not public ones, and so telecommunication companies have

0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:23.480
<v Speaker 2>historically charged really exorbitant fees for the service, in some

0:24:23.520 --> 0:24:28.120
<v Speaker 2>cases more than twelve dollars for a fifteen minute phone call. Well, thankfully,

0:24:28.160 --> 0:24:31.080
<v Speaker 2>the FCC did introduce new rate caps for the cost

0:24:31.080 --> 0:24:34.560
<v Speaker 2>of phones in jails and prisons. This was actually just

0:24:34.640 --> 0:24:37.280
<v Speaker 2>last year in twenty twenty five, so it now ranges

0:24:37.320 --> 0:24:40.760
<v Speaker 2>between six cents to twelve cents per minute. That's the limit.

0:24:41.280 --> 0:24:44.040
<v Speaker 2>But of course, you know, telecom companies are still finding

0:24:44.040 --> 0:24:46.560
<v Speaker 2>new ways to price gouge prisoners through you know, other

0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:49.320
<v Speaker 2>communication methods like electronic messaging.

0:24:49.800 --> 0:24:53.359
<v Speaker 1>That's really really unfortunate, Like, and it feels hard that

0:24:53.400 --> 0:24:55.480
<v Speaker 1>these people are already paying their debt to society in

0:24:55.560 --> 0:25:00.359
<v Speaker 1>now like to have to have a cost for communications. Yeah,

0:25:00.400 --> 0:25:02.679
<v Speaker 1>it's crazy because it feels like it doesn't take much

0:25:02.760 --> 0:25:05.840
<v Speaker 1>to make a payphone sustainable, right, Like I found this

0:25:05.920 --> 0:25:08.960
<v Speaker 1>twenty sixteen interview. It was with the head of a

0:25:09.000 --> 0:25:12.359
<v Speaker 1>telecommunication firm, and he said that for a payphone to

0:25:12.400 --> 0:25:15.719
<v Speaker 1>be profitable, you just need people to make three fifty

0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:17.120
<v Speaker 1>cent calls per day.

0:25:17.240 --> 0:25:17.720
<v Speaker 2>That's it.

0:25:17.920 --> 0:25:20.600
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, But since most remaining payphones are now owned by

0:25:20.600 --> 0:25:23.800
<v Speaker 1>private operators, they can basically charge whatever they want because

0:25:23.800 --> 0:25:26.400
<v Speaker 1>they know that people still using these phones don't really

0:25:26.400 --> 0:25:27.320
<v Speaker 1>have other options.

0:25:27.720 --> 0:25:30.040
<v Speaker 2>It's kind of shocking to hear that, like all the

0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:33.200
<v Speaker 2>major providers pulled up stakes in the payphone business when

0:25:33.200 --> 0:25:36.000
<v Speaker 2>the bar was low as a dollar fifty a day.

0:25:36.119 --> 0:25:38.880
<v Speaker 2>But I guess there were a ton of payphones out

0:25:38.880 --> 0:25:41.480
<v Speaker 2>there that weren't even meeting that three call threshold.

0:25:41.960 --> 0:25:43.919
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean it kind of makes sense for payphones

0:25:43.960 --> 0:25:46.639
<v Speaker 1>to persist in like rural areas and prisons and places

0:25:46.680 --> 0:25:50.040
<v Speaker 1>where mobile phones are unreliable or also not allowed. But

0:25:50.600 --> 0:25:52.280
<v Speaker 1>in most parts of the country and the rest of

0:25:52.280 --> 0:25:55.440
<v Speaker 1>the developed world, the average person just wouldn't have much

0:25:55.480 --> 0:25:59.600
<v Speaker 1>need for a payphone except in sort of a dire emergency.

0:25:59.040 --> 0:26:01.440
<v Speaker 2>Right, Yeah, and nine to one one calls are free

0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:03.719
<v Speaker 2>from payphones, so you know those aren't going to keep

0:26:03.720 --> 0:26:05.000
<v Speaker 2>the industry afloat anyway.

0:26:05.200 --> 0:26:05.960
<v Speaker 1>That's a really good point.

0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:07.520
<v Speaker 2>So what do you think this all means for the

0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:10.080
<v Speaker 2>future though, Like our payphones, you know, destined for the

0:26:10.119 --> 0:26:13.120
<v Speaker 2>scrap heap once the last few hangars on kind of

0:26:13.240 --> 0:26:13.640
<v Speaker 2>let go.

0:26:14.720 --> 0:26:16.719
<v Speaker 1>You know, if you had asked me that a week ago,

0:26:16.720 --> 0:26:19.440
<v Speaker 1>I would have said, yes, absolutely. Like my friend Winslow,

0:26:19.520 --> 0:26:22.359
<v Speaker 1>who's the designer for Mental Floss, had a phone booth

0:26:22.359 --> 0:26:23.719
<v Speaker 1>in one of his early apartments.

0:26:24.200 --> 0:26:25.280
<v Speaker 3>You just like decorated.

0:26:25.359 --> 0:26:27.840
<v Speaker 1>But uh, you know, I actually think they're kind of

0:26:27.840 --> 0:26:29.800
<v Speaker 1>making a comeback, and I'm going to tell you a

0:26:29.880 --> 0:26:47.160
<v Speaker 1>little bit about that right after the break. Welcome back

0:26:47.160 --> 0:26:49.560
<v Speaker 1>to part Tien genius. Now before the break, I tease

0:26:49.640 --> 0:26:52.359
<v Speaker 1>that some groups out there are currently working to resurrect

0:26:52.440 --> 0:26:55.840
<v Speaker 1>the payphone And while it might be tempting to call

0:26:55.880 --> 0:27:01.000
<v Speaker 1>this project futile, the correct term is actually futel.

0:27:01.400 --> 0:27:05.159
<v Speaker 2>I don't get it is that the French pronunciation.

0:27:06.520 --> 0:27:11.600
<v Speaker 1>No futel, as in futile telephone or pointless telephone. That's

0:27:11.600 --> 0:27:14.480
<v Speaker 1>the name of a nonprofit group. It's based in Portland,

0:27:14.560 --> 0:27:19.200
<v Speaker 1>Oregon that's been updating decommissioned payphones to provide free calls

0:27:19.280 --> 0:27:22.639
<v Speaker 1>and voicemail. The service is meant to help impoverished and

0:27:22.800 --> 0:27:25.000
<v Speaker 1>unhoused members of the community, as well as people who

0:27:25.119 --> 0:27:26.600
<v Speaker 1>just don't want to carry a cell phone.

0:27:26.359 --> 0:27:27.040
<v Speaker 3>Everywhere they go.

0:27:27.640 --> 0:27:32.119
<v Speaker 1>At the time of recording, Futel had fifteen outdoor payphone

0:27:32.119 --> 0:27:34.840
<v Speaker 1>style phones in Portland, plus four more in Washington State

0:27:34.920 --> 0:27:37.880
<v Speaker 1>and another two in Michigan. And this is actually how

0:27:37.920 --> 0:27:41.000
<v Speaker 1>the group's founders sum up their mission quote. We believe

0:27:41.000 --> 0:27:43.880
<v Speaker 1>in the preservation of public telephone hardware as a means

0:27:43.920 --> 0:27:47.080
<v Speaker 1>of providing access to the public square for everybody. We

0:27:47.119 --> 0:27:49.920
<v Speaker 1>are primarily driven by the basic needs that we see

0:27:50.040 --> 0:27:52.800
<v Speaker 1>on the streets every day. By giving something away that

0:27:52.920 --> 0:27:55.639
<v Speaker 1>is cheap for us, but valuable to the recipient.

0:27:56.040 --> 0:28:03.159
<v Speaker 2>Huh so payphones that don't require payment? Is there a

0:28:03.240 --> 0:28:04.879
<v Speaker 2>name for that, payless phones?

0:28:04.920 --> 0:28:08.359
<v Speaker 1>I guess free payphones, but you know that's kind of

0:28:08.359 --> 0:28:09.880
<v Speaker 1>an oxymoron, free and payphone.

0:28:10.000 --> 0:28:12.520
<v Speaker 2>Well, I mean, whatever you call them, I like it.

0:28:12.520 --> 0:28:16.159
<v Speaker 2>It's been crazy talking about payphones getting more expensive in

0:28:16.200 --> 0:28:19.320
<v Speaker 2>the age of smartphones, you know, like you'd imagine that

0:28:19.359 --> 0:28:22.560
<v Speaker 2>as demand lessened, this is a service that would get cheaper,

0:28:22.680 --> 0:28:25.000
<v Speaker 2>But no, it's been the opposite. So this is a

0:28:25.080 --> 0:28:27.000
<v Speaker 2>nice change of pace. I'm curious, though, do you know,

0:28:27.320 --> 0:28:29.440
<v Speaker 2>are there any other cities that have kind of followed

0:28:29.480 --> 0:28:31.080
<v Speaker 2>Portland's example? Is this catching on?

0:28:31.880 --> 0:28:35.960
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, there's actually a similar program in Philadelphia, inspired by futel.

0:28:35.960 --> 0:28:40.400
<v Speaker 1>It's actually called phil Tel Philadelphia Telephone, I imagine, and

0:28:40.520 --> 0:28:43.040
<v Speaker 1>its goal is to create a network of phones all

0:28:43.080 --> 0:28:45.760
<v Speaker 1>across the city that could make free calls anywhere in

0:28:45.760 --> 0:28:48.720
<v Speaker 1>North America. And the cool thing is that they are

0:28:48.920 --> 0:28:53.000
<v Speaker 1>just revitalizing these existing payphone locations that are also installing

0:28:53.120 --> 0:28:55.720
<v Speaker 1>refurbished phones and places that never had one before.

0:28:56.080 --> 0:28:58.440
<v Speaker 2>And they work just like old payphones, except you know,

0:28:58.440 --> 0:28:59.640
<v Speaker 2>without the whole pay part.

0:29:00.200 --> 0:29:02.680
<v Speaker 1>They functioned the same, but the hardware is more modern.

0:29:03.320 --> 0:29:07.320
<v Speaker 1>The collective's co founders their name Mark Dank and Navien Albert.

0:29:07.600 --> 0:29:09.760
<v Speaker 1>They developed a way to replace the coin system with

0:29:09.800 --> 0:29:13.000
<v Speaker 1>a payment free circuit board and router. So when someone

0:29:13.000 --> 0:29:17.160
<v Speaker 1>makes a call, the analog phone uses voiceover Internet Protocol

0:29:17.280 --> 0:29:20.680
<v Speaker 1>or VoIP, which connects a call using an Internet connection.

0:29:20.960 --> 0:29:23.200
<v Speaker 2>That is super clever. And I've got to ask, though,

0:29:23.200 --> 0:29:25.600
<v Speaker 2>who pays for all this, like, not just the calls,

0:29:25.600 --> 0:29:28.920
<v Speaker 2>but you know, the phones, the installations, keeping the servers running.

0:29:28.920 --> 0:29:29.840
<v Speaker 2>That can't be cheap.

0:29:30.160 --> 0:29:32.720
<v Speaker 1>So that's actually the amazing part. All of Filltel's employees

0:29:32.760 --> 0:29:35.120
<v Speaker 1>are volunteers and the work they do is completely funded

0:29:35.120 --> 0:29:36.240
<v Speaker 1>by public donations.

0:29:36.960 --> 0:29:38.040
<v Speaker 3>So this is how.

0:29:38.000 --> 0:29:40.520
<v Speaker 1>Mark Dank put it quote, you could think of this

0:29:40.560 --> 0:29:43.560
<v Speaker 1>as half art project, half community service project. We like

0:29:43.680 --> 0:29:46.280
<v Speaker 1>tinkering with these phones. We like the idea of providing

0:29:46.360 --> 0:29:49.560
<v Speaker 1>interesting experiences and having people play with them. But at

0:29:49.560 --> 0:29:51.160
<v Speaker 1>the same time, there are people out there who can

0:29:51.240 --> 0:29:55.320
<v Speaker 1>really benefit from having free phones available. So if anyone

0:29:55.360 --> 0:29:57.880
<v Speaker 1>listening has some extra time or spare change they'd like

0:29:57.960 --> 0:30:00.000
<v Speaker 1>to donate to the cause, you can definitely check out

0:30:00.200 --> 0:30:03.000
<v Speaker 1>filtele dot org to learn how you can contribute.

0:30:03.160 --> 0:30:05.680
<v Speaker 2>It's nice to see projects like that, because you mostly

0:30:05.680 --> 0:30:09.040
<v Speaker 2>hear about old phone boots being converted into tiny libraries

0:30:09.200 --> 0:30:11.880
<v Speaker 2>or art galleries, and you know, don't get me wrong,

0:30:11.880 --> 0:30:15.400
<v Speaker 2>those are awesome ways to repurpose those spaces. But the

0:30:15.440 --> 0:30:19.080
<v Speaker 2>whole point of payphones was to facilitate conversations for people

0:30:19.160 --> 0:30:21.720
<v Speaker 2>on the go, So it's cool that people are finding

0:30:21.720 --> 0:30:25.360
<v Speaker 2>ways to kind of carry forward that service. And another

0:30:25.360 --> 0:30:27.320
<v Speaker 2>thing I was struck by this week is how using

0:30:27.400 --> 0:30:31.840
<v Speaker 2>a payphone not only allows for conversations, but specific kinds

0:30:31.920 --> 0:30:36.400
<v Speaker 2>of conversations, so ones that you might never have otherwise. Like,

0:30:36.800 --> 0:30:39.760
<v Speaker 2>there's this really beautiful practice that started in Japan. I

0:30:39.800 --> 0:30:42.560
<v Speaker 2>was reading about. It's called wind phones, and so these

0:30:42.600 --> 0:30:46.479
<v Speaker 2>are disconnected payphones or sometimes just an old landline phone,

0:30:46.760 --> 0:30:48.800
<v Speaker 2>and they're usually set up in some kind of booth

0:30:48.960 --> 0:30:51.760
<v Speaker 2>in a secluded spot in nature. And the idea is

0:30:51.800 --> 0:30:53.880
<v Speaker 2>that people who are grieving the loss of a loved

0:30:53.920 --> 0:30:57.479
<v Speaker 2>one can use these to call the person who's gone

0:30:57.720 --> 0:31:00.520
<v Speaker 2>and have a one way conversation with them. So it's

0:31:00.520 --> 0:31:03.120
<v Speaker 2>a way to kind of help people process their emotions

0:31:03.280 --> 0:31:05.560
<v Speaker 2>or say the things they never got the chance to say.

0:31:06.320 --> 0:31:09.560
<v Speaker 1>That is really really beautiful. It reminds me of like

0:31:09.640 --> 0:31:12.400
<v Speaker 1>forest bathing too, which is also a Japanese concept. I

0:31:12.400 --> 0:31:15.240
<v Speaker 1>feel like there's something about being in nature and communicating

0:31:15.280 --> 0:31:18.040
<v Speaker 1>that's really interesting. So like, how did this come about?

0:31:18.120 --> 0:31:18.960
<v Speaker 3>Well, yeah, so the.

0:31:19.200 --> 0:31:21.720
<v Speaker 2>First wind phone was created in Japan back in twenty

0:31:21.800 --> 0:31:26.040
<v Speaker 2>ten by a garden designer named Itaru Sasaki. He moved

0:31:26.040 --> 0:31:28.320
<v Speaker 2>an old phone booth into his yard so he could

0:31:28.400 --> 0:31:31.120
<v Speaker 2>talk to his late cousin and let his thoughts, as

0:31:31.160 --> 0:31:34.760
<v Speaker 2>he put it quote be carried on the wind. But

0:31:34.840 --> 0:31:37.960
<v Speaker 2>then you know, the following year, the Fukushim earthquake and

0:31:38.000 --> 0:31:41.880
<v Speaker 2>tsunami struck Japan in quick succession, killing more than twenty

0:31:41.920 --> 0:31:45.520
<v Speaker 2>thousand people. So Sasaki opened up this phone booth to

0:31:45.640 --> 0:31:48.760
<v Speaker 2>his neighbors who had lost relatives in that disaster, and

0:31:48.880 --> 0:31:51.560
<v Speaker 2>once word got out, people started coming from all over

0:31:51.600 --> 0:31:54.280
<v Speaker 2>the country to express their grief through the phone of

0:31:54.320 --> 0:31:57.200
<v Speaker 2>the wind. And in the time since then, the idea

0:31:57.240 --> 0:31:59.640
<v Speaker 2>has been adopted all over the world. Like, there were

0:31:59.640 --> 0:32:03.440
<v Speaker 2>currently about six hundred registered wind phones, most of which

0:32:03.480 --> 0:32:06.080
<v Speaker 2>are actually right here in the US. And if you'd

0:32:06.080 --> 0:32:08.680
<v Speaker 2>like to try one, you can go to my windphone

0:32:08.840 --> 0:32:11.160
<v Speaker 2>dot com and find a location nearest to you.

0:32:11.960 --> 0:32:15.080
<v Speaker 1>I really really love that, like It kind of speaks

0:32:15.120 --> 0:32:18.000
<v Speaker 1>to the power of placemaking, right, Like a lot of

0:32:18.080 --> 0:32:21.080
<v Speaker 1>people wouldn't sit in their living room to talk to

0:32:21.120 --> 0:32:23.480
<v Speaker 1>a deceased loved one. You know, you can get self

0:32:23.480 --> 0:32:26.200
<v Speaker 1>conscious or like like, you know, it feels weird to

0:32:26.200 --> 0:32:28.480
<v Speaker 1>do that with an iPhone and play act. But if

0:32:28.520 --> 0:32:32.040
<v Speaker 1>you carve out the space that's designated for that type

0:32:32.080 --> 0:32:35.240
<v Speaker 1>of connection, suddenly people become so much more open to

0:32:35.280 --> 0:32:37.560
<v Speaker 1>the idea. I really think there's something special about it.

0:32:37.880 --> 0:32:40.040
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no, me too. And it kind of goes back

0:32:40.040 --> 0:32:42.000
<v Speaker 2>to you know, when the payphone wasn't just a means

0:32:42.000 --> 0:32:44.840
<v Speaker 2>of communication, it was part of the landscape. And I

0:32:44.880 --> 0:32:47.560
<v Speaker 2>think the fact the phones are kind of archaic also

0:32:47.680 --> 0:32:49.600
<v Speaker 2>plays a part in this. You know, we all know

0:32:49.760 --> 0:32:53.200
<v Speaker 2>there's there's nothing magical about a smartphone, right but an

0:32:53.200 --> 0:32:56.240
<v Speaker 2>old timey rotary phone where you have to pull that dial,

0:32:56.800 --> 0:32:59.760
<v Speaker 2>or a payphone with those big clicky steel buttons like

0:33:00.160 --> 0:33:03.080
<v Speaker 2>those aren't devices that were used to interacting with anymore.

0:33:03.160 --> 0:33:05.160
<v Speaker 2>So when you pick one up, you know, who knows

0:33:05.160 --> 0:33:05.840
<v Speaker 2>what might happen?

0:33:07.440 --> 0:33:11.440
<v Speaker 1>Well, I mean, being old, I know that what's happening

0:33:11.440 --> 0:33:13.760
<v Speaker 1>is that you hear an annoying dial tone. If you

0:33:13.800 --> 0:33:15.960
<v Speaker 1>didn't deposit any money or recording would tell you to

0:33:16.000 --> 0:33:17.200
<v Speaker 1>hang off the phone.

0:33:17.440 --> 0:33:20.280
<v Speaker 2>Okay, all right, yeah, okay, so nothing too magical about

0:33:20.320 --> 0:33:23.479
<v Speaker 2>that either. But you know, everything looks more charming when

0:33:23.560 --> 0:33:27.280
<v Speaker 2>viewed through those rose tinted glasses and nostalgia and even

0:33:27.280 --> 0:33:29.200
<v Speaker 2>something as mundane as payphones.

0:33:29.320 --> 0:33:32.720
<v Speaker 1>So you know, if you're not ready to hang it

0:33:32.800 --> 0:33:35.360
<v Speaker 1>up just yet, I've got another quarter here that should

0:33:35.360 --> 0:33:38.240
<v Speaker 1>buys a few more minutes, and I think there's no

0:33:38.320 --> 0:33:40.760
<v Speaker 1>better way to spend that time than with the fact off.

0:33:40.920 --> 0:33:41.520
<v Speaker 1>Let's do it.

0:33:49.280 --> 0:33:51.960
<v Speaker 2>Okay, I'll get us started with my favorite piece of

0:33:52.000 --> 0:33:55.920
<v Speaker 2>payphone psychology, which is that callers tend to take longer

0:33:56.000 --> 0:33:58.480
<v Speaker 2>if they know someone is waiting to use the phone.

0:33:58.920 --> 0:34:01.840
<v Speaker 2>So we've all e to this, but according to a

0:34:01.920 --> 0:34:05.600
<v Speaker 2>nineteen eighty nine study conducted by Professor Barry Rubach, it

0:34:05.680 --> 0:34:10.400
<v Speaker 2>is true another person's presence really does make a caller linger.

0:34:10.920 --> 0:34:15.280
<v Speaker 2>It's an example of a behavioral phenomenon called territorial defense,

0:34:15.600 --> 0:34:18.759
<v Speaker 2>which happens when someone develops a personal sense of ownership

0:34:18.800 --> 0:34:21.160
<v Speaker 2>over a public space and kind of feels the need

0:34:21.200 --> 0:34:24.319
<v Speaker 2>to defend it from challengers. So it all goes back

0:34:24.320 --> 0:34:26.840
<v Speaker 2>to the idea of payphones being a limbo state between

0:34:26.880 --> 0:34:30.680
<v Speaker 2>public and private life. Even our brains can't tell the difference. Sometimes.

0:34:31.160 --> 0:34:34.719
<v Speaker 2>The good news, though, is this is likely happening unconsciously,

0:34:34.840 --> 0:34:37.319
<v Speaker 2>so the person on the phone probably isn't trying to

0:34:37.360 --> 0:34:38.200
<v Speaker 2>be a jerk.

0:34:38.480 --> 0:34:39.279
<v Speaker 3>And you know.

0:34:39.360 --> 0:34:42.319
<v Speaker 2>Professor Rubac also pointed out that in some cases the

0:34:42.320 --> 0:34:45.759
<v Speaker 2>person waiting might be distracting to the caller, causing them to,

0:34:45.800 --> 0:34:47.799
<v Speaker 2>you know, need more time to get their words out.

0:34:48.120 --> 0:34:50.319
<v Speaker 2>So as unlikely as it is these days, if you

0:34:50.400 --> 0:34:53.160
<v Speaker 2>ever find yourself waiting for a payphone, your best bet

0:34:53.239 --> 0:34:55.640
<v Speaker 2>is to give the caller some space and try to

0:34:55.640 --> 0:34:56.560
<v Speaker 2>look nonchalant.

0:34:57.280 --> 0:34:59.640
<v Speaker 1>So we talked about a few ways that people have

0:34:59.719 --> 0:35:02.279
<v Speaker 1>been vitalizing phone boots on the streets and nature, But

0:35:02.480 --> 0:35:05.440
<v Speaker 1>another place where they found a new life is in

0:35:05.520 --> 0:35:09.719
<v Speaker 1>the modern office. So soundproof privacy pods styled after phone

0:35:09.719 --> 0:35:12.160
<v Speaker 1>boots have become super popular as a solution to the

0:35:12.160 --> 0:35:15.960
<v Speaker 1>problems of open office floor plans. They provide individuals or

0:35:16.000 --> 0:35:18.760
<v Speaker 1>small teams with a quiet place to focus conduct meetings

0:35:18.800 --> 0:35:21.799
<v Speaker 1>without being distracted. This trend to actually started small in

0:35:21.840 --> 0:35:25.720
<v Speaker 1>twenty fifteen, with only one dedicated office phone booth company.

0:35:25.880 --> 0:35:28.640
<v Speaker 1>It was this finish firm called Framery. But then the

0:35:28.680 --> 0:35:30.719
<v Speaker 1>pandemic pushed a lot of businesses to sort of re

0:35:30.760 --> 0:35:33.080
<v Speaker 1>examine the value of private offices, and now there are

0:35:33.200 --> 0:35:37.399
<v Speaker 1>dozens of companies selling office phone boots. In twenty twenty four,

0:35:37.600 --> 0:35:40.399
<v Speaker 1>the global phone booth market was about one point four

0:35:40.600 --> 0:35:43.600
<v Speaker 1>billion dollars, and it's projected to be nearly triple that

0:35:43.960 --> 0:35:46.880
<v Speaker 1>by twenty thirty three. So phone boots, may you know,

0:35:47.000 --> 0:35:50.000
<v Speaker 1>have lost their place on the street corners, but they

0:35:50.000 --> 0:35:51.920
<v Speaker 1>found a new home next to the water cooler.

0:35:52.440 --> 0:35:54.920
<v Speaker 2>Wow, I feel like come on back to the office

0:35:54.960 --> 0:35:56.960
<v Speaker 2>so we can stick you in a phone booth. Might

0:35:57.000 --> 0:36:01.960
<v Speaker 2>not be as enticing as managers think, but well, my

0:36:02.000 --> 0:36:04.400
<v Speaker 2>next fact is about a public servant who spent so

0:36:04.520 --> 0:36:07.400
<v Speaker 2>much time in a phone booth that he's now immortalized

0:36:07.440 --> 0:36:11.680
<v Speaker 2>inside one at the Honolulu International Airport. World War II

0:36:11.840 --> 0:36:15.600
<v Speaker 2>veteran Daniel K and Noeh became one of Hawaii's first

0:36:15.640 --> 0:36:18.240
<v Speaker 2>representatives in Congress when he was elected to the Senate

0:36:18.320 --> 0:36:21.279
<v Speaker 2>in nineteen sixty two. He held his seat there for

0:36:21.320 --> 0:36:24.640
<v Speaker 2>the next fifty years, and during that time, most of

0:36:24.680 --> 0:36:27.799
<v Speaker 2>which was before cell phones, he would routinely use an

0:36:27.800 --> 0:36:31.560
<v Speaker 2>airport phone booth. Between his flights to Washington. It became

0:36:31.840 --> 0:36:34.400
<v Speaker 2>such a common sight to see the Senator working away

0:36:34.400 --> 0:36:37.560
<v Speaker 2>in his phone booth that after his passing in twenty twelve,

0:36:37.680 --> 0:36:40.799
<v Speaker 2>his supporters decided to erect a bronze statue of him

0:36:40.920 --> 0:36:44.440
<v Speaker 2>right there in the terminal. It depicts him seated inside

0:36:44.440 --> 0:36:47.600
<v Speaker 2>a reconstituted phone booth with a bronze payphone in his

0:36:47.719 --> 0:36:51.200
<v Speaker 2>left hand, and there's even enough room on the bench

0:36:51.239 --> 0:36:53.920
<v Speaker 2>for visitors to sit next to him and snap a selfie,

0:36:53.920 --> 0:36:56.800
<v Speaker 2>something they couldn't have done back then. And there's also

0:36:56.840 --> 0:36:59.840
<v Speaker 2>a plaque that reads, quote in honor of Daniel k

0:37:00.160 --> 0:37:03.800
<v Speaker 2>in no way as our superman, he timelessly served Hawaii

0:37:03.840 --> 0:37:07.040
<v Speaker 2>and America with extraordinary dedication and valor.

0:37:08.040 --> 0:37:11.360
<v Speaker 1>That's really sweet, Ashly. My last fact is another fitting

0:37:11.400 --> 0:37:15.160
<v Speaker 1>tribute to an avid phone user, mister Alexander Graham Bell.

0:37:15.640 --> 0:37:17.840
<v Speaker 1>When the inventor of the telephone passed away in nineteen

0:37:17.880 --> 0:37:21.000
<v Speaker 1>twenty two, every phone in the US and Canada, including payphones,

0:37:21.040 --> 0:37:24.200
<v Speaker 1>fell silent for a full minute. It was a show

0:37:24.200 --> 0:37:27.360
<v Speaker 1>of respect from all the telephone exchanges, and the moment

0:37:27.360 --> 0:37:30.919
<v Speaker 1>of silence coincided with the start of his funeral, And

0:37:31.480 --> 0:37:33.520
<v Speaker 1>you know. I read that the first ever phone book

0:37:33.560 --> 0:37:37.520
<v Speaker 1>told callers to end a conversation by saying that is all.

0:37:37.560 --> 0:37:41.239
<v Speaker 1>But that feels so unfriendly, So instead, I think we

0:37:41.280 --> 0:37:44.120
<v Speaker 1>should close out the show with Bell's preferred telephone greeting,

0:37:44.239 --> 0:37:46.040
<v Speaker 1>which was actually a hoy.

0:37:46.160 --> 0:37:50.759
<v Speaker 2>Not hello. Well, a hooy to Alexander Graham Bell, and

0:37:50.960 --> 0:37:54.040
<v Speaker 2>congratulations to you, Mango for bringing us around to the

0:37:54.080 --> 0:37:57.560
<v Speaker 2>man who started it all. I think you've earned today's trophy.

0:37:59.840 --> 0:38:01.680
<v Speaker 1>I think it's the perfect place to keep all of

0:38:01.719 --> 0:38:06.720
<v Speaker 1>my spare quarters, so thank you so much. If anyone

0:38:06.880 --> 0:38:09.239
<v Speaker 1>listening has a payphone related story to share, we'd love

0:38:09.280 --> 0:38:10.879
<v Speaker 1>to hear about it. Give us a call at three

0:38:10.960 --> 0:38:13.799
<v Speaker 1>oh two, four oh five, five nine two five. We're

0:38:13.800 --> 0:38:17.279
<v Speaker 1>also waiting for those answers about milk, so send those

0:38:17.280 --> 0:38:19.800
<v Speaker 1>as well. You can send us an email at high

0:38:19.840 --> 0:38:23.439
<v Speaker 1>Geniuses at gmail dot com. Two that is spelled Hi

0:38:23.680 --> 0:38:26.600
<v Speaker 1>Geniuses at gmail dot com. You can also find us

0:38:26.600 --> 0:38:29.520
<v Speaker 1>on Instagram, blue Sky at part Time Genius. We'll be

0:38:29.560 --> 0:38:32.160
<v Speaker 1>back next week with another new episode, but in the meantime,

0:38:32.239 --> 0:38:35.560
<v Speaker 1>from Will Dylan, Gabe, Mary and myself, thank you so

0:38:35.800 --> 0:38:51.440
<v Speaker 1>much for listening. Part Time Genius is a production of

0:38:51.520 --> 0:38:55.040
<v Speaker 1>Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. It is hosted by my good pal

0:38:55.239 --> 0:38:58.359
<v Speaker 1>will Pearson, who I've known for almost three decades now.

0:38:58.680 --> 0:39:00.400
<v Speaker 3>That is insane.

0:39:00.600 --> 0:39:05.920
<v Speaker 1>I'm the autoco host, Mangeshatikular aka Mango. Our producer is

0:39:06.000 --> 0:39:08.920
<v Speaker 1>Mary Phillips Sandy. She's actually a super producer. I'm going

0:39:09.000 --> 0:39:12.560
<v Speaker 1>to fix that in post. Our writer is Gabe Lucier,

0:39:12.719 --> 0:39:15.720
<v Speaker 1>who I've also known for like a decade at this point,

0:39:15.800 --> 0:39:18.960
<v Speaker 1>maybe more. Dylan Fagan is in the booth. He is

0:39:19.080 --> 0:39:22.520
<v Speaker 1>always dressed up, always cheering us on, and always ready

0:39:22.560 --> 0:39:25.239
<v Speaker 1>to hit record and then mix the show after he

0:39:25.360 --> 0:39:27.959
<v Speaker 1>does a great job. I also want to shout out

0:39:28.160 --> 0:39:31.200
<v Speaker 1>the executive producers from iHeart my good pals Katrina and

0:39:31.200 --> 0:39:35.120
<v Speaker 1>Norvel and Ali Perry. We have social media support from

0:39:35.120 --> 0:39:38.279
<v Speaker 1>Calypso Rallis. If you like our videos. That is all

0:39:38.400 --> 0:39:42.959
<v Speaker 1>Calypso's handiwork. For more podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit

0:39:43.000 --> 0:39:47.359
<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or tune in wherever you

0:39:47.400 --> 0:39:50.200
<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows. That's it from us here

0:39:50.280 --> 0:39:53.200
<v Speaker 1>at Part Time Genius. Thank you so much for listening.