Listen to PNAS Papers
Turn any PNAS article into audio. Open the paper on pnas.org in Chrome, click CastReader, and listen through the abstract and body — with paragraph highlighting. PNAS papers go open access after 6 months, so most older papers are fully readable.
Why Listen to PNAS with CastReader?
PNAS covers breadth — biology, physics, social science. Audio makes it triagable.
Breadth
Covers PNAS's Full Disciplinary Range
PNAS publishes across biological, physical, and social sciences. One extractor handles the whole journal — whether it's a molecular biology paper, a political-science study, or a planetary-science piece, CastReader reads the same way.
Significance First
Significance + Abstract + Body
PNAS papers lead with a 'Significance' paragraph written for a broader audience, then the abstract, then the body. CastReader reads them in order so you get the TL;DR first and can decide whether to keep going — ideal for triaging 'Most Read' lists on PNAS.org.
Follow Along
Paragraph Highlighting
Each paragraph highlights as it's read. When the Methods section gets dense, slow to 1.1x and eyes-follow; when a Discussion paragraph matches your interest, flag it visually without pausing playback.
100% Free
PNAS Most-Read in Commute Audio
Completely free. No signup, no subscription, no quota. Open pnas.org/most-read, work through 5 of the top 10 on a 40-minute commute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything about listening to PNAS papers with CastReader
How do I listen to a PNAS paper?
Open the article on pnas.org in Chrome (URL looks like pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.XXXXXXXXX). Click the CastReader icon. It reads from the title through the Significance, Abstract, and body.
Are PNAS papers paywalled?
PNAS has a rolling 6-month embargo. Papers become fully open access six months after publication. Before that, the abstract is public but full text may require institutional access. CastReader reads whatever HTML your browser has loaded — we don't bypass paywalls.
Does CastReader read the Significance paragraph?
Yes. PNAS's Significance section is a short plain-language summary aimed at non-specialists. CastReader reads it first, then the abstract, then the body — giving you the TL;DR up front.
What about figures and tables?
Figure and table captions are read inline because they're prose. The images and table data themselves are skipped — audio can't represent those. Paragraph highlighting tells you exactly where you are if you need to glance at Figure 2.
Are citation markers read out?
No. Inline citation markers like (1, 2, 3) and reference-list numbers are stripped so the audio flows cleanly. References are not read — check the visual version for citations.
Can I adjust reading speed?
Yes. 0.5x through 3x. Most users run 1.5x for the Significance and Abstract, then 1.2x for a dense Methods section.
Is it free? Any limits?
Completely free with no page or character limits. No account needed. CastReader is a free browser extension for Chrome and Edge.
Does it work on PNAS Nexus?
Yes — PNAS Nexus (the newer fully-OA PNAS sibling on academic.oup.com) is handled by the same extraction path. Open any article on PNAS Nexus and hit play.
Start Listening to PNAS
Completely free. No signup. No limits. Install CastReader and open any PNAS paper.