The Man that Killed Prank Calls, Pissed Off the FCC, and Changed Everything

The Petty, Forgotten War Over Caller ID

Before phones were little dopamine slots we carried in our pockets—before everything was tagged, filtered, and pre-sorted—we had mystery.

The phone rang, and you answered. That was the deal.

Could be your girlfriend. Could be your bookie. Could be a stranger asking if your refrigerator was running. You didn’t know. That was the point. The phone was chaos.…