diff --git a/src/App.css b/src/App.css
index a7eca11b..92399a30 100644
--- a/src/App.css
+++ b/src/App.css
@@ -3663,11 +3663,86 @@ body.has-player .chat-fab {
 }
 
 .dump-card-preview .rich-content-compact {
+  position: relative;
   width: 100%;
   height: 100%;
   justify-content: center;
 }
 
+/* ── Two targets, one card ──
+   The card opens the dump page; a playable (or source-linked) thumbnail does
+   its own thing. Only one of them may look armed at a time: over the thumb
+   the card's "open" cue (the accent title) stands down and the thumb's own
+   dim and badge take over. At rest the thumb carries only a small corner
+   badge, so it reads as "playable" without claiming the whole card. */
+.dump-card-inner:has(.dump-card-preview :is(button, a):hover) .dump-card-title {
+  color: var(--color-text);
+}
+
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-play-overlay,
+.rich-content-open-overlay {
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: auto auto 5px 5px;
+  z-index: 1;
+  width: 22px;
+  height: 22px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  display: flex;
+  align-items: center;
+  justify-content: center;
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6);
+  color: #fff;
+  font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  line-height: 1;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  transition:
+    background var(--dur-base) ease,
+    opacity var(--dur-base) ease,
+    transform var(--dur-base) ease;
+}
+
+/* The badge never moves: card hover grows it a touch; hovering the thumb
+   itself grows it a touch more while a soft dim fades in behind it. */
+.dump-card-inner:hover .dump-card-preview .rich-content-play-overlay {
+  transform: scale(1.1);
+}
+
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-thumbnail-btn::after,
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-compact::after {
+  content: "";
+  position: absolute;
+  inset: 0;
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
+  opacity: 0;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  transition: opacity var(--dur-base) ease;
+}
+
+/* A link out has nothing to badge at rest — the ↗ only appears on hover. */
+.rich-content-open-overlay {
+  opacity: 0;
+}
+
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-thumbnail-btn:is(:hover, :focus-visible)::after,
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-compact:is(:hover, :focus-visible)::after {
+  opacity: 1;
+}
+
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-thumbnail-btn:is(:hover, :focus-visible)
+  .rich-content-play-overlay,
+.rich-content-compact:is(:hover, :focus-visible) .rich-content-open-overlay {
+  transform: scale(1.2);
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.8);
+  opacity: 1;
+}
+
+/* The one playing keeps its badge lit, in the accent, showing ⏸. */
+.dump-card-preview .rich-content-thumbnail-btn.is-playing
+  .rich-content-play-overlay {
+  background: var(--color-accent);
+  color: var(--color-on-accent);
+}
+
 .dump-card-preview .rich-content-compact-thumbnail {
   width: 100%;
   height: 100%;
@@ -5421,13 +5496,36 @@ body.has-player .chat-fab {
 
 /* The play affordance is decorative — clicks fall through to the card, which
    plays the embed. This keeps the hit target from being covered by the text
-   overlay on smaller card sizes. */
+   overlay on smaller card sizes.
+   Here the card *is* the play button and only the title opens the dump. The
+   badge sits in the top corner, clear of the text on every card size, and
+   speaks the list view's language: card hover wakes it a touch, and it
+   settles back while the pointer is on the title or the vote. */
 .journal-card--image .rich-content-play-overlay {
   pointer-events: none;
+  inset: 0.6rem 0.6rem auto auto;
+  width: 28px;
+  height: 28px;
+  border-radius: 50%;
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6);
+  /* Keeps it findable on black letterbox bars. */
+  box-shadow: 0 0 0 1px rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.3);
+  font-size: var(--text-xs);
+  line-height: 1;
+  transition:
+    background var(--dur-base) ease,
+    transform var(--dur-base) ease;
 }
 
 .journal-card--image:hover .rich-content-play-overlay {
-  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5);
+  transform: scale(1.15);
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.75);
+}
+
+.journal-card--image:has(.journal-card-title:hover, .journal-card-vote:hover)
+  .rich-content-play-overlay {
+  transform: none;
+  background: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.6);
 }
 
 .journal-card--image .journal-card-overlay {
diff --git a/src/components/FilePreview.tsx b/src/components/FilePreview.tsx
index bc405b94..132ffbd8 100644
--- a/src/components/FilePreview.tsx
+++ b/src/components/FilePreview.tsx
@@ -208,9 +208,12 @@ export default function FilePreview(
             e.stopPropagation();
             play(filePlayerItem(dump, fileUrl, mime, token));
           }}
+          aria-label="Play"
         >
           <VideoThumb src={thumbUrl} fallback={mimeIcon(mime)} />
-          <span className="rich-content-play-overlay">▶</span>
+          <span className="rich-content-play-overlay" aria-hidden="true">
+            ▶
+          </span>
         </button>
       );
     }
@@ -226,6 +229,7 @@ export default function FilePreview(
             e.stopPropagation();
             play(filePlayerItem(dump, fileUrl, mime, token));
           }}
+          aria-label="Play"
         >
           {thumbOverride
             ? <VideoThumb src={thumbOverride} fallback={mimeIcon(mime)} />
@@ -234,6 +238,9 @@ export default function FilePreview(
                 {mimeIcon(mime)}
               </span>
             )}
+          <span className="rich-content-play-overlay" aria-hidden="true">
+            ▶
+          </span>
         </button>
       );
     }
diff --git a/src/components/RichContentCard.tsx b/src/components/RichContentCard.tsx
index bd3229f7..9b3fc5d9 100644
--- a/src/components/RichContentCard.tsx
+++ b/src/components/RichContentCard.tsx
@@ -96,8 +96,14 @@ export default function RichContentCard(
         rel="noopener noreferrer"
         className="rich-content-compact"
         onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
+        aria-label={richContent.siteName
+          ? `Open on ${richContent.siteName}`
+          : "Open source"}
       >
         {thumbnail}
+        <span className="rich-content-open-overlay" aria-hidden="true">
+          ↗
+        </span>
       </a>
     );
   }
diff --git a/src/themes/nyt.css b/src/themes/nyt.css
index a9677edf..819fab07 100644
--- a/src/themes/nyt.css
+++ b/src/themes/nyt.css
@@ -129,6 +129,17 @@
   text-decoration: underline;
   text-underline-offset: 2px;
 }
+/* …except over a photo, where the headline is white on a dark scrim: ink
+   there goes black-on-black in the light scheme. */
+[data-style="nyt"] .journal-card--image .journal-card-title:hover {
+  color: #fff;
+}
+/* Over a playable thumb the card's "open" cue stands down (see App.css). */
+[data-style="nyt"]
+  .dump-card-inner:has(.dump-card-preview :is(button, a):hover)
+  .dump-card-title {
+  text-decoration: none;
+}
 
 /* ── Kickers — section labels & badges in spaced capitals ───────── */
 [data-style="nyt"] .comment-section-title,