Listen to Readwise Reader
CastReader reads Readwise Reader articles aloud with natural voices — your highlights stay visible as you listen, so you can review what you saved without re-reading it.
The quiet economics of warehouse robotics
The most efficient warehouses today still depend on a 70-year-old idea: moving bins, not shelves. But what has changed is who does the moving. Amazon's original Kiva robots didn't pick items — they brought entire shelves to stationary human pickers. That small inversion cut walking time by 90%, and it turns out walking time was the single biggest cost in fulfillment. Today's next-gen warehouse robots take the same principle further: if you move the bin, you don't need to move the human.
Listen to the article — your saved highlights stay visible as you read
How CastReader Works with Readwise Reader
Built to pair with the way Readwise users actually read
Highlights Stay Visible
🔊 Listen Without Losing Your Highlights
Readwise is about capturing highlights, not just reading. When CastReader reads a Readwise article aloud, your saved highlights keep their yellow background — so you can listen while scanning for what you marked important. No toggling between 'read mode' and 'listen mode'.
Clean Article Body
Reads the Article, Not the Reader UI
Readwise Reader's sidebar has document list, filters, summary controls, AI features, and sync indicators. CastReader's extractor reads only the article text — no 'next document · mark read · 14 minutes to read' header noise.
Works on All Readwise Article Views
Web Clips, RSS, Email, PDFs
Readwise Reader accepts articles from web clips, RSS feeds, newsletters, EPUBs, and PDFs. CastReader reads them all — the extractor handles whichever format Readwise is rendering, including PDF-sourced articles that most TTS extensions fumble.
No Readwise Upgrade Required
Audio Is on the Free Plan Too
Readwise Reader's built-in text-to-speech lives behind the paid plan. CastReader works regardless of your Readwise tier — free, paid, student. You keep Readwise for the highlights and Spaced Repetition Review; you add CastReader for the audio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about listening to Readwise Reader with CastReader
Does Readwise Reader have a built-in read-aloud feature?
Yes — but it's a paid feature on Readwise's plan. CastReader adds read-aloud independently of your Readwise tier, so free-plan users get the same one-click Listen experience, and paid users get a second option if they prefer different voices.
Does it keep my highlights visible while reading aloud?
Yes. CastReader's extractor respects the Readwise DOM — highlighted passages keep their yellow background during playback. You can follow the audio and visually scan for your saved highlights at the same time.
Does it work on articles saved from PDFs and EPUBs?
Yes. When Readwise Reader renders a PDF or EPUB as an article, CastReader reads the text of that rendered view. PDFs with complex layouts (academic papers, multi-column) generally work well because Readwise has already reflowed them into readable text.
Does it read newsletter content?
Yes. Readwise Reader's newsletter inbox treats each email as an article. CastReader reads the newsletter body — headers, footers, unsubscribe links, and tracking pixels are skipped automatically.
Can I highlight things while listening?
Yes. Readwise's highlight UI still works while CastReader plays audio. You can pause playback, highlight a passage, and resume — or keep playback going and highlight on the fly. The highlight is saved to your Readwise library as normal.
Does it work on Readwise's mobile app?
CastReader is a browser extension, so it works in the web version of Readwise Reader (read.readwise.io) in desktop or mobile browsers. The native iOS/Android Readwise apps are outside the extension's scope. For mobile listening, use Send to Phone to stream audio from your browser session.
Is it free?
Completely free. No API key, no usage limits, no account required. Install the Chrome extension and start listening.
Also Try
Listen to Feedly
RSS feed articles read aloud — same one-click flow
Listen to Substack
Newsletter articles read aloud
Listen to Medium
Medium articles read aloud with paywall-supported pages
Listen to PDF
Any PDF read aloud — including papers saved in Readwise
EPUB to Audio
Turn any EPUB into an audiobook
Send to Phone
Queue up Readwise articles and stream them to your phone
Start Listening Now
Completely free. No signup. No Readwise Pro needed. Install and start listening.