“ 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.