Dial This Number To Hear A Story Every Week

Y'know how sometimes you just want to be on the phone with someone, anyone — you're walking home, or online at the DMV, or waiting for your laundry, and you just want someone to talk to you? In a perfect world, you'd just dial a number for a phone story. You wouldn't even have to say anything, you could just dial and listen while you get to where you're going.

Well, as it turns out, the world is now perfect. Thanks to Pop-Up Magazine, there's a new non-podcast in town. "Phone Stories" is a new series in which a new one-minute story is accessible via phone number every other Sunday. The stories are just long enough to take your mind off whatever chore or task you're working on while you listen, but just short enough to keep you on track. You won't need to stop what you're doing in order to listen, which is part of the point. They're just quick little stories to enrich your day, enlighten your perspective, and keep you company on the other line.

Once the story goes live, you're free to call-in whenever you want. This week's story features Mary Roach, an author with a new book coming out this summer, Grunt, about little known or appreciated aspects of soldiers' lives. The book touches on the daily routines: the elements, sleep, and getting dressed.

"Hi, this is Mary Roach. I understand you're getting dressed and I want to tell you a story about getting dressed."

...The series begins. Her short but powerful story will leave you wanting more. But you'll have to wait two weeks until the next installment of the series becomes live. Call in to 415-529-6057 to hear the whole story and start looking forward to all the amazing artists, comedians and writers who will add their stories to the line.

As someone who constantly has to delete podcasts due to a lack of storage space, I'm wondering if this new call-in style storytelling will become more of a trend. It doesn't take up space, and it feels a lot more intimate. Plus, it encourages a much shorter and to-the-point story format, which for the busy lady is quite a perk. I can't exactly imagine a series like Serial taking on this format, but what a juicy fake phone call that would be! Can't you just imagine Sarah Koenig whispering into your phone the sorted details of her criminal mystery of the year? Talk about gossip.

Image: Pixabay