How to Listen to Reddit Posts
• By Elliott Tong
To listen to Reddit posts, install the Alexandria Chrome extension, then open any subreddit or post page. Alexandria detects posts using multiple selector fallbacks (supporting both new Reddit's shreddit-post elements and classic Reddit's .Post containers), then injects a play button in the post's action bar. Click it to hear that post read aloud with word-by-word highlighting. Comments are extracted when you're on a post detail page.
Why Listen to Reddit Instead of Reading It?
Reddit threads can go deep. A single discussion might have hundreds of comments, nested replies, tangents, and digressions. Reading through them all is time-consuming, but skimming means missing the gems buried in the noise.
Listening changes how you can process that depth:
Long posts become background content
Subreddits like r/relationships, r/AmItheAsshole, or r/tifu are full of long-form stories. Listening lets you absorb these while doing something else — cooking, commuting, exercising. The drama plays out in your ears.
You can process informational posts faster
Technical subreddits (r/programming, r/learnpython, r/DIY) have posts that explain how to do things. Listening while you have the actual task in front of you lets you follow along without switching between tabs.
It works for text-heavy communities
Some subreddits are almost entirely long-form text: r/writingprompts, r/nosleep, r/BestofRedditorUpdates. These are reading-heavy communities where listening genuinely saves hours.
Comments become easier to follow
Reddit's nested comment structure is hard to read visually — you lose track of who's replying to whom. Listening flattens the hierarchy into a linear flow, making it easier to follow the conversation.
How Alexandria Works with Reddit
Alexandria's Reddit adapter (~445 lines of custom code) handles three challenges that generic TTS tools cannot:
Dual layout support
Reddit has multiple layouts: new Reddit uses shreddit-post custom elements and [data-testid="post-container"] divs, while classic Reddit uses .Post containers. Alexandria tries multiple selectors in order, using the first one that finds posts. This makes it resilient to Reddit's frequent UI changes [RedditAdapter.js, waitForReddit() and injectPostButtons()].
Post and comment extraction
Unlike feed-only adapters, Alexandria extracts both post content and comments when you're on a post detail page. The content selectors check multiple fallback locations (.md, [data-click-id="text"], .Post__body, or plain paragraphs), handling the variety of Reddit's DOM structures [RedditAdapter.js, getPostContentElement()].
Per-post buttons with state sync
Each post gets its own play button, positioned in the action bar (the row with upvote/downvote, comments, share, etc.). When you click one, that post plays while all other buttons show idle. If you click a different post, the first stops and the second starts [RedditAdapter.js, buttons Map + _currentPostElement tracking].
SPA navigation detection
Reddit is a single-page application. Clicking a post to view it, or navigating between subreddits, doesn't trigger a page load — it swaps the DOM. Alexandria polls the URL every 500ms, detects these navigation events, hides the widget, cleans up old buttons, and injects new ones once the new view renders [RedditAdapter.js, setupNavigationDetection()].
Tips for Listening to Reddit Effectively
Start with story subreddits
Subreddits built around long-form stories — r/tifu, r/relationships, r/BestofRedditorUpdates, r/HobbyDrama — are ideal for listening. These posts are written to be read start to finish, which translates well to audio.
Use it for informational posts
Technical explanations, how-to guides, and ELI5 answers are easier to follow when you can hear them while doing the thing they describe. Open the post, click play, and follow along.
Adjust speed by content type
Drama and stories work at 1.5x–2x. Technical content might need 1x–1.25x. Alexandria's free tier supports up to 5x, so you can adjust per-post as needed.
Listen to posts, then read comments
For efficiency, listen to the original post to get context, then scan the comments visually for highlights. This hybrid approach works well for popular threads with hundreds of comments.