There was a time in America when calling a relative in another state meant watching the clock, keeping it short, and bracing for a phone bill that stung for weeks. Long-distance calling was expensive, emotionally charged, and nothing like the frictionless video calls we make today without a second thought.
Mar 13, 2026
In 1980, a three-minute phone call from a hotel in London to a family in Ohio could cost more than a night's accommodation. Today, that same conversation happens in HD video, for free, from a beach. The story of how communication costs collapsed — and what that collapse did to the very idea of being away — is more disorienting than most people expect.
Mar 13, 2026