diff --git a/app.js b/app.js
index 5cf3b44..73e293f 100644
--- a/app.js
+++ b/app.js
@@ -2720,17 +2720,24 @@ document.getElementById('audio-toggle').addEventListener('click', () => {
 });
 
 // Podcast toggle
-document.getElementById('podcast-toggle').addEventListener('click', async () => {
+document.getElementById('podcast-toggle').addEventListener('click', () => {
   try {
-    const response = await fetch('SOUL.md');
-    if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Failed to load SOUL.md');
-    const text = await response.text();
-    const utterance = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(text);
-    utterance.lang = 'en-US';
-    utterance.rate = 0.9;
-    utterance.pitch = 0.9;
-    utterance.volume = 1.0;
-    speechSynthesis.speak(utterance);
+    fetch('SOUL.md')
+      .then(response => {
+        if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Failed to load SOUL.md');
+        return response.text();
+      })
+      .then(text => {
+        const utterance = new SpeechSynthesisUtterance(text);
+        utterance.lang = 'en-US';
+        utterance.rate = 0.9;
+        utterance.pitch = 0.9;
+        speechSynthesis.speak(utterance);
+      })
+      .catch(err => {
+        console.error('Failed to load or play SOUL.md:', err);
+        alert('Could not load SOUL.md for audio playback.');
+      });
   } catch (err) {
     console.error('Failed to load or play SOUL.md:', err);
     alert('Could not load SOUL.md for audio playback.');
diff --git a/style.css b/style.css
index e2e8e43..d2d1d55 100644
--- a/style.css
+++ b/style.css
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ canvas {
 }
 
 #podcast-toggle:hover {
-  background-color: #0066cc;
+  background-color: var(--color-primary);
 }
 
 #export-session:hover {