diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Feed.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Feed.tsx
index 747149b..b5109a4 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Feed.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Feed.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { useInfiniteQuery, useQuery, useQueryClient } from "@tanstack/react-quer
 import { api, type FeedFilters, type Video } from "../lib/api";
 import { notify } from "../lib/notifications";
 import VideoCard from "./VideoCard";
+import PlayerModal from "./PlayerModal";
 
 const PAGE = 60;
 
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ export default function Feed({
   view: "grid" | "list";
 }) {
   const [overrides, setOverrides] = useState<Record<string, string>>({});
+  const [activeVideo, setActiveVideo] = useState<Video | null>(null);
   const qc = useQueryClient();
 
   const query = useInfiniteQuery({
@@ -118,6 +120,7 @@ export default function Feed({
               view="grid"
               onState={onState}
               onChannelFilter={onChannelFilter}
+              onOpen={setActiveVideo}
             />
           ))}
         </div>
@@ -130,10 +133,14 @@ export default function Feed({
               view="list"
               onState={onState}
               onChannelFilter={onChannelFilter}
+              onOpen={setActiveVideo}
             />
           ))}
         </div>
       )}
+      {activeVideo && (
+        <PlayerModal video={activeVideo} onClose={() => setActiveVideo(null)} />
+      )}
       <div ref={sentinel} className="h-10" />
       {isFetchingNextPage && (
         <div className="text-center text-muted py-4">Loading more…</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..04c3003
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,202 @@
+import { useEffect, useRef } from "react";
+import { ExternalLink, X } from "lucide-react";
+import type { Video } from "../lib/api";
+import { formatDuration, formatViews, relativeTime } from "../lib/format";
+
+// Experiment (branch experiment/inline-player): play the video in-app via the
+// YouTube IFrame Player API (not a bare embed) so we can read playback position
+// and resume where the user left off. The modal closes via the header X button,
+// the backdrop, or ESC (ESC only while focus is on our page, not inside the
+// cross-origin player iframe — a browser security boundary we can't cross).
+
+// --- IFrame Player API loader (singleton) ---
+let apiPromise: Promise<any> | null = null;
+function loadYouTubeApi(): Promise<any> {
+  if (apiPromise) return apiPromise;
+  apiPromise = new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const w = window as any;
+    if (w.YT && w.YT.Player) return resolve(w.YT);
+    const prev = w.onYouTubeIframeAPIReady;
+    w.onYouTubeIframeAPIReady = () => {
+      if (typeof prev === "function") prev();
+      resolve(w.YT);
+    };
+    const tag = document.createElement("script");
+    tag.src = "https://www.youtube.com/iframe_api";
+    document.head.appendChild(tag);
+  });
+  return apiPromise;
+}
+
+// --- Per-video resume position, persisted in localStorage so it survives a refresh ---
+const posKey = (id: string) => `subfeed:player-pos:${id}`;
+function savePos(id: string, seconds: number, duration: number): void {
+  // Don't store trivially-early or near-finished positions (start fresh next time).
+  if (!Number.isFinite(seconds) || seconds < 5 || (duration > 0 && seconds > duration - 10)) {
+    localStorage.removeItem(posKey(id));
+    return;
+  }
+  localStorage.setItem(posKey(id), String(Math.floor(seconds)));
+}
+function loadPos(id: string): number {
+  const v = localStorage.getItem(posKey(id));
+  const n = v ? parseInt(v, 10) : 0;
+  return Number.isFinite(n) && n > 0 ? n : 0;
+}
+
+export default function PlayerModal({
+  video,
+  onClose,
+}: {
+  video: Video;
+  onClose: () => void;
+}) {
+  const mountRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+  const playerRef = useRef<any>(null);
+
+  // ESC + background scroll lock.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const onKey = (e: KeyboardEvent) => {
+      if (e.key === "Escape") onClose();
+    };
+    window.addEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+    const prevOverflow = document.body.style.overflow;
+    document.body.style.overflow = "hidden";
+    return () => {
+      window.removeEventListener("keydown", onKey);
+      document.body.style.overflow = prevOverflow;
+    };
+  }, [onClose]);
+
+  // Create the player, resume from the saved position, and persist progress.
+  useEffect(() => {
+    let cancelled = false;
+    const id = video.id;
+    const persist = () => {
+      const p = playerRef.current;
+      if (!p || typeof p.getCurrentTime !== "function") return;
+      try {
+        savePos(id, p.getCurrentTime(), typeof p.getDuration === "function" ? p.getDuration() : 0);
+      } catch {
+        /* player may be tearing down */
+      }
+    };
+
+    loadYouTubeApi().then((YT) => {
+      if (cancelled || !mountRef.current) return;
+      playerRef.current = new YT.Player(mountRef.current, {
+        width: "100%",
+        height: "100%",
+        videoId: id,
+        playerVars: {
+          autoplay: 1,
+          start: loadPos(id) || undefined,
+          rel: 0, // limit "related" to the same channel (full removal is no longer possible)
+          enablejsapi: 1,
+          origin: window.location.origin,
+          playsinline: 1,
+        },
+      });
+    });
+
+    // Periodic checkpoint so progress survives a crash/refresh, not just a clean close.
+    const timer = window.setInterval(persist, 5000);
+
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+      window.clearInterval(timer);
+      persist();
+      const p = playerRef.current;
+      if (p && typeof p.destroy === "function") {
+        try {
+          p.destroy();
+        } catch {
+          /* ignore */
+        }
+      }
+      playerRef.current = null;
+    };
+  }, [video.id]);
+
+  return (
+    <div
+      className="fixed inset-0 z-50 flex items-center justify-center p-4 sm:p-6 bg-black/80 backdrop-blur-sm"
+      onClick={onClose}
+      role="dialog"
+      aria-modal="true"
+    >
+      <div
+        className="glass-card relative w-full max-w-4xl max-h-full overflow-y-auto rounded-2xl shadow-2xl"
+        onClick={(e) => e.stopPropagation()}
+      >
+        {/* Header bar — keeps our close button off the player's own top-right controls. */}
+        <div className="flex items-center justify-between gap-3 px-4 h-12 border-b border-border">
+          <span className="truncate text-sm font-medium text-muted">{video.title}</span>
+          <button
+            onClick={onClose}
+            title="Close (Esc)"
+            aria-label="Close"
+            className="shrink-0 p-2 -mr-2 rounded-full text-muted hover:text-fg hover:bg-surface transition"
+          >
+            <X className="w-5 h-5" />
+          </button>
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="aspect-video w-full bg-black">
+          <div ref={mountRef} className="w-full h-full" />
+        </div>
+
+        <div className="p-4 sm:p-5">
+          <h2 className="text-lg font-semibold leading-snug">{video.title}</h2>
+
+          <div className="flex items-center gap-3 mt-3">
+            {video.channel_thumbnail && (
+              <img
+                src={video.channel_thumbnail}
+                alt=""
+                className="w-10 h-10 rounded-full shrink-0"
+              />
+            )}
+            <a
+              href={video.channel_url}
+              target="_blank"
+              rel="noreferrer"
+              className="font-medium hover:text-accent truncate"
+            >
+              {video.channel_title}
+            </a>
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-2 gap-y-1 text-sm text-muted mt-3">
+            {video.view_count != null && <span>{formatViews(video.view_count)} views</span>}
+            {video.view_count != null && <span>·</span>}
+            <span>{relativeTime(video.published_at)}</span>
+            {video.duration_seconds != null && (
+              <>
+                <span>·</span>
+                <span>{formatDuration(video.duration_seconds)}</span>
+              </>
+            )}
+            {video.live_status === "was_live" && (
+              <span className="bg-accent text-accent-fg text-[10px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wide px-1.5 py-0.5 rounded">
+                stream
+              </span>
+            )}
+          </div>
+
+          <div className="mt-4">
+            <a
+              href={video.watch_url}
+              target="_blank"
+              rel="noreferrer"
+              className="inline-flex items-center gap-2 text-sm px-3 py-2 rounded-lg bg-accent text-accent-fg shadow-sm hover:opacity-90 transition"
+            >
+              <ExternalLink className="w-4 h-4" />
+              Open on YouTube
+            </a>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/VideoCard.tsx b/frontend/src/components/VideoCard.tsx
index 8a4f7d5..3d30060 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/VideoCard.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/VideoCard.tsx
@@ -70,13 +70,33 @@ function Actions({
   );
 }
 
-function Thumb({ video, className }: { video: Video; className?: string }) {
+// Plain left-click opens the in-app player (the experiment); Ctrl/Cmd/middle-click
+// keep the native "open youtube.com in a new tab" behavior via the underlying href.
+function openInApp(
+  e: React.MouseEvent,
+  video: Video,
+  onOpen?: (v: Video) => void
+): void {
+  if (!onOpen || e.metaKey || e.ctrlKey || e.shiftKey || e.altKey || e.button !== 0) return;
+  e.preventDefault();
+  onOpen(video);
+}
+
+function Thumb({
+  video,
+  className,
+  onOpen,
+}: {
+  video: Video;
+  className?: string;
+  onOpen?: (v: Video) => void;
+}) {
   return (
     <a
       href={video.watch_url}
       target="_blank"
       rel="noreferrer"
-      onClick={() => video.status === "new" && undefined}
+      onClick={(e) => openInApp(e, video, onOpen)}
       className={clsx(
         "block relative rounded-xl overflow-hidden bg-surface border border-border shadow-md group-hover:shadow-2xl transition-shadow",
         className
@@ -116,11 +136,13 @@ export default function VideoCard({
   view,
   onState,
   onChannelFilter,
+  onOpen,
 }: {
   video: Video;
   view: "grid" | "list";
   onState: (id: string, status: string) => void;
   onChannelFilter?: (channelId: string, channelName: string) => void;
+  onOpen?: (v: Video) => void;
 }) {
   const watched = video.status === "watched";
   const meta = (
@@ -134,6 +156,7 @@ export default function VideoCard({
       href={video.watch_url}
       target="_blank"
       rel="noreferrer"
+      onClick={(e) => openInApp(e, video, onOpen)}
       className="font-medium leading-snug line-clamp-2 hover:text-accent"
     >
       {video.title}
@@ -148,7 +171,7 @@ export default function VideoCard({
           watched && "opacity-55"
         )}
       >
-        <Thumb video={video} className="w-44 aspect-video shrink-0" />
+        <Thumb video={video} className="w-44 aspect-video shrink-0" onOpen={onOpen} />
         <div className="min-w-0 flex-1">
           {title}
           <a
@@ -174,7 +197,7 @@ export default function VideoCard({
         watched && "opacity-55"
       )}
     >
-      <Thumb video={video} className="aspect-video" />
+      <Thumb video={video} className="aspect-video" onOpen={onOpen} />
       <div className="flex gap-3 mt-2.5 px-0.5 pb-0.5">
         {video.channel_thumbnail && (
           <img