A Game Challenges Californians To Find A Working Payphone

NPR | By Vincent Acovino,

William Troop

Published March 14, 2026 at 3:57 PM CDT

When was the last time you saw a payphone? For most people it's probably been a while. In California, there are more than 2000 working payphones. A game challenges the public to find them.

Vincent Acovino

See stories by Vincent Acovino

William Troop

William Troop is a supervising editor at All Things Considered. He works closely with everyone on the ATC team to plan, produce and edit shows 7 days a week. During his 30+ years in public radio, he has worked at NPR, at member station WAMU in Washington, and at The World, the international news program produced at station GBH in Boston. Troop was born in Mexico, to Mexican and Nicaraguan parents. He spent most of his childhood in Italy, where he picked up a passion for soccer that he still nurtures today. He speaks Spanish and Italian fluently, and is always curious to learn just how interconnected we all are.