FWIW you described the exact reason I listen to so many audiobooks. I struggle with insomnia, and one thing that helped quite a bit was taking a walk before bed while listening to an audiobook. If I listened to music I could just tune it out and my brain would just continue cycling on whatever track it was on. Audiobooks forced me to actually pay attention and stop thinking about whatever was in my head. Breaking that thought cycle really helped with getting to sleep after.

you might be underestimating the number of people with long drives and mundane chores that use their eyes and hands but not their full attention

I listen to audiobooks in fits and starts - when driving, when cleaning or washing dishes, when brushing teeth. Basically whenever I can do something else essentially on autopilot.

Some people can do it. I'm with you, I cannot. My mom likes to listen while driving, but if I try to do that I lose the story really fast because I pay too much attention to driving.

The simple answer to this is to pay less attention to driving!

I moved somewhere for work, that doesn't have NPR on the radio dial, and the app just isn't that great. So instead of listening to the radio, I play audiobooks during my commute.

Commuting, washing dishes, walking or driving to do an errand, that kind of thing. Sometimes I pause if I'm in a particularly complex driving situation or something, but usually I am able to focus and retain a normal amount.

I listen to audiobooks that I’ve already read while working on task that aren’t mentally challenging. Sanderson’s books are actually great for this as they’re all interconnected and that makes for a good reason to “reread” then.

I believe all those people multitasking while listening to the book are not actually paying as much attention as you'd think. Like watching low quality tv used to be popular.

Except it's a shame because these books are not low quality. For me it's unimaginable that I could do anything else while reading. It puts my brain and imagination to work at 110%, and I love it.

One of the sibling comments is mentioning replacing radio with listening to an audiobook. Radio!!!! I'm pretty sure the reading experience is wildly different.