What happened
In April 2021, Reddit officially debuted Reddit Talk, a live audio feature modeled on the then-surging app Clubhouse but built directly into subreddits. Talk let subreddit moderators start audio rooms and invite participants to speak, while anyone could drop in to listen. Listeners could react with emoji or raise a virtual hand to request the stage, mirroring Clubhouse's design of speakers at the top and an audience below. By embedding the feature in communities, Reddit positioned Talk as a way for existing subreddits to host live conversations around their shared interests.
Reddit Talk arrived amid a wave of copycats — Twitter Spaces, Facebook Live Audio Rooms, and Spotify's Greenroom all launched around the same period as companies rushed to capitalize on the live-audio craze. But interest in the format faded almost as quickly as it had spiked. Reddit ultimately shut down Reddit Talk before it reached its second anniversary, retiring the feature as the broader social-audio trend collapsed. Talk stands as a notable example of Reddit chasing a fast-moving format and then cutting it loose once demand evaporated.