diff --git a/src/workspaces/helpers/error-text.ts b/src/workspaces/helpers/error-text.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fc2bf7e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/workspaces/helpers/error-text.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+/**
+ * A readable string for anything that was thrown.
+ *
+ * `useClient` rejects with a plain `{ status, message }` object, not an `Error`, so the reflex
+ * `err instanceof Error ? err.message : …` misses the most common failure in this app entirely and
+ * reports every API error as "unknown error". Check the shape first, the class second.
+ *
+ * Truncated because these end up in toasts, and a server that answers a failure with a wall of HTML
+ * should not push the rest of the screen off it.
+ */
+export function errorText(err: unknown, fallback = 'unknown error'): string {
+  if (typeof err === 'object' && err !== null && 'message' in err) {
+    const message = (err as { message: unknown }).message;
+    if (typeof message === 'string' && message.trim()) return message.slice(0, 200);
+  }
+  if (typeof err === 'string' && err.trim()) return err.slice(0, 200);
+  return fallback;
+}
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Chat/components/MessageBubble.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Chat/components/MessageBubble.tsx
index 8e4a22f3..ae680556 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Chat/components/MessageBubble.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/Chat/components/MessageBubble.tsx
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@ import remarkGfm from 'remark-gfm';
 import rehypeRaw from 'rehype-raw';
 import rehypeSanitize, { defaultSchema } from 'rehype-sanitize';
 import { Volume2, Loader2, Square, Clock, Check, X, CircleSlash } from 'lucide-react';
+import { toast } from '@/components/ui/sonner';
 import type { Tone } from '@/components/Data';
 import { toneText } from '@/components/Data';
+import { errorText } from 'helpers/error-text';
 import type { ChatMessage } from '../types';
 import { ToolActivity } from './ToolActivity';
 import { QuestionActivity } from './QuestionActivity';
@@ -91,11 +93,16 @@ const ReadAloudButton = ({ id, text }: { id: string; text: string }) => {
       audio.onerror = () => {
         audioRef.current = null;
         setState('idle');
+        toast.error('The narration was generated but would not play.');
       };
       await audio.play();
       setState('playing');
-    } catch {
+    } catch (err) {
+      // Synthesis is slow enough that the spinner is the only feedback there is; when it just stops and
+      // the icon comes back, the button looks broken rather than failed. Most often this is the TTS
+      // service being down, which is worth saying out loud.
       setState('idle');
+      toast.error(`Could not read this message aloud: ${errorText(err)}`);
     }
   };
 
diff --git a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/SessionList.tsx b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/SessionList.tsx
index fcc1668e..b00f8ef8 100644
--- a/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/SessionList.tsx
+++ b/src/workspaces/officerdev/src/apps/ChatHistory/SessionList.tsx
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { Plus, MessageSquare, RefreshCw, Trash2, Pencil, Check, X } from 'lucide
 import { toast } from '@/components/ui/sonner';
 import { DataList, DataRow, EmptyBlock, ErrorBlock, LoadingBlock, RelativeTime } from '@/components/Data';
 import { usePanelChannel } from 'hooks/usePanelChannel';
+import { errorText } from 'helpers/error-text';
 import { useClaudeSessions } from 'state/useClaudeSessions';
 import type { SelectedSession } from './ChatDetailPanel';
 import { PwdSelector } from './PwdSelector';
@@ -257,12 +258,3 @@ export const SessionList = () => {
     </div>
   );
 };
-
-/** `useClient` throws `{ status, message }`, not an Error, so `err.message` alone misses the common case. */
-function errorText(err: unknown): string {
-  if (typeof err === 'object' && err !== null && 'message' in err) {
-    const message = (err as { message: unknown }).message;
-    if (typeof message === 'string' && message.trim()) return message.slice(0, 200);
-  }
-  return err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'unknown error';
-}