diff --git a/backend/app/routes/feed.py b/backend/app/routes/feed.py
index 87bf28c..2917244 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/feed.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/feed.py
@@ -4,9 +4,12 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends, HTTPException, Query
 from sqlalchemy import Select, and_, false, func, or_, select
 from sqlalchemy.orm import Session, aliased
 
+from app import quota
 from app.auth import current_user
 from app.db import get_db
 from app.models import Channel, ChannelTag, Subscription, Tag, User, Video, VideoState
+from app.sync.videos import parse_iso8601_duration
+from app.youtube.client import YouTubeClient, YouTubeError
 
 router = APIRouter(prefix="/api", tags=["feed"])
 
@@ -296,12 +299,48 @@ def get_video_detail(
     db: Session = Depends(get_db),
 ) -> dict:
     """On-demand detail (description, like count) — kept out of the feed list payload
-    so the feed stays lean; fetched lazily, e.g. for the title hover popover."""
+    so the feed stays lean; fetched lazily, e.g. for the title hover popover.
+
+    Videos we already store are served from the DB for free. A video that isn't in
+    our DB (e.g. a YouTube link inside another video's description that the in-app
+    player navigated to) is resolved via the YouTube API (videos.list, 1 unit,
+    attributed to the requesting user)."""
     v = db.get(Video, video_id)
-    if v is None:
+    if v is not None:
+        return {
+            "id": v.id,
+            "description": v.description,
+            "like_count": v.like_count,
+            "in_db": True,
+            "channel_id": v.channel_id,
+            "channel_title": v.channel.title if v.channel else None,
+            "published_at": v.published_at.isoformat() if v.published_at else None,
+            "view_count": v.view_count,
+            "duration_seconds": v.duration_seconds,
+        }
+
+    try:
+        with quota.attribute(user.id, "video_lookup"), YouTubeClient(db, user) as yt:
+            items = yt.get_videos([video_id])
+    except YouTubeError as exc:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=502, detail=f"YouTube lookup failed: {exc}")
+    if not items:
         raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Unknown video")
+
+    snippet = items[0].get("snippet", {})
+    stats = items[0].get("statistics", {})
+    likes = stats.get("likeCount")
+    views = stats.get("viewCount")
     return {
-        "id": v.id,
-        "description": v.description,
-        "like_count": v.like_count,
+        "id": video_id,
+        "description": snippet.get("description"),
+        "like_count": int(likes) if likes is not None else None,
+        "in_db": False,
+        "channel_id": snippet.get("channelId"),
+        "channel_title": snippet.get("channelTitle"),
+        "published_at": snippet.get("publishedAt"),
+        "view_count": int(views) if views is not None else None,
+        "duration_seconds": parse_iso8601_duration(
+            items[0].get("contentDetails", {}).get("duration")
+        ),
     }
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
index 56a0fc4..05c4083 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/PlayerModal.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,152 @@
-import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react";
+import { useEffect, useRef, useState, type ReactNode } from "react";
 import { createPortal } from "react-dom";
 import { useQuery } from "@tanstack/react-query";
-import { Check, CheckCheck, X } from "lucide-react";
+import { ArrowLeft, Check, CheckCheck, X } from "lucide-react";
 import { api, type Video } from "../lib/api";
 import { formatDuration, formatViews, relativeTime } from "../lib/format";
 
+// Turn a description into clickable nodes:
+//  - bare timestamps (mm:ss / hh:mm:ss) → seek the inline player
+//  - a YouTube link to the *current* video → seek (to its t= if any)
+//  - a YouTube link to *another* video → load it in the inline player
+//  - emails → mailto:, hashtags → YouTube's hashtag page, other URLs → new tab
+const URL_RE = /(https?:\/\/[^\s<>]+)/g;
+// One pass over plain text for the three inline token kinds (email | hashtag | timestamp).
+const INLINE_RE =
+  /([A-Za-z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Za-z0-9-]+\.[A-Za-z0-9.-]+)|(#[\p{L}\p{N}_]+)|(\b(?:\d{1,2}:)?\d{1,2}:\d{2}\b)/gu;
+
+function tsToSeconds(ts: string): number {
+  const parts = ts.split(":").map((n) => parseInt(n, 10));
+  return parts.length === 3
+    ? parts[0] * 3600 + parts[1] * 60 + parts[2]
+    : parts[0] * 60 + parts[1];
+}
+
+// Parse a YouTube `t`/`start` param: "90", "90s", or "1h2m3s".
+function parseStart(t: string | null): number | null {
+  if (!t) return null;
+  if (/^\d+$/.test(t)) return parseInt(t, 10) || null;
+  const m = t.match(/^(?:(\d+)h)?(?:(\d+)m)?(?:(\d+)s)?$/);
+  if (!m) return null;
+  const total =
+    parseInt(m[1] || "0", 10) * 3600 +
+    parseInt(m[2] || "0", 10) * 60 +
+    parseInt(m[3] || "0", 10);
+  return total || null;
+}
+
+// Extract a video id (+ optional start) from a YouTube URL, else null.
+function parseYouTube(url: string): { id: string; start: number | null } | null {
+  let u: URL;
+  try {
+    u = new URL(url);
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+  const host = u.hostname.replace(/^www\./, "");
+  let id: string | null = null;
+  if (host === "youtu.be") {
+    id = u.pathname.slice(1) || null;
+  } else if (host === "youtube.com" || host === "m.youtube.com" || host === "music.youtube.com") {
+    if (u.pathname === "/watch") id = u.searchParams.get("v");
+    else {
+      const m = u.pathname.match(/^\/(?:shorts|embed|live)\/([^/?#]+)/);
+      if (m) id = m[1];
+    }
+  }
+  if (!id) return null;
+  return { id, start: parseStart(u.searchParams.get("t") || u.searchParams.get("start")) };
+}
+
+function renderDescription(
+  text: string,
+  opts: {
+    currentId: string;
+    onSeek: (seconds: number) => void;
+    onLoadVideo: (id: string, start: number | null) => void;
+  }
+): ReactNode[] {
+  const out: ReactNode[] = [];
+  let key = 0;
+  const linkCls = "text-accent hover:underline break-all";
+  // Tidy YouTube descriptions: drop trailing spaces and remove blank lines entirely
+  // (they're just noise in the popover), keeping single line breaks.
+  const clean = text.replace(/[ \t]+\n/g, "\n").replace(/\n{2,}/g, "\n").trim();
+  for (const chunk of clean.split(URL_RE)) {
+    if (/^https?:\/\//.test(chunk)) {
+      const href = chunk.replace(/[.,;:!?)\]]+$/, "");
+      const yt = parseYouTube(href);
+      if (yt) {
+        const sameVideo = yt.id === opts.currentId;
+        out.push(
+          <button
+            key={key++}
+            onClick={() =>
+              sameVideo ? opts.onSeek(yt.start ?? 0) : opts.onLoadVideo(yt.id, yt.start)
+            }
+            className={linkCls}
+            title={sameVideo ? "Jump to this time" : "Play in the in-app player"}
+          >
+            {href}
+          </button>
+        );
+      } else {
+        out.push(
+          <a key={key++} href={href} target="_blank" rel="noreferrer" className={linkCls}>
+            {href}
+          </a>
+        );
+      }
+      continue;
+    }
+    // Plain text: pull out emails, hashtags and bare timestamps.
+    INLINE_RE.lastIndex = 0;
+    let last = 0;
+    let m: RegExpExecArray | null;
+    while ((m = INLINE_RE.exec(chunk))) {
+      if (m.index > last) out.push(<span key={key++}>{chunk.slice(last, m.index)}</span>);
+      if (m[1]) {
+        // Email — trim trailing punctuation the domain rule may have swallowed.
+        const email = m[1].replace(/[.,;:]+$/, "");
+        out.push(
+          <a key={key++} href={`mailto:${email}`} className={linkCls}>
+            {email}
+          </a>
+        );
+        if (m[1].length > email.length) out.push(<span key={key++}>{m[1].slice(email.length)}</span>);
+      } else if (m[2]) {
+        // Hashtag → YouTube's hashtag feed (mirrors native YouTube behavior).
+        const tag = m[2].slice(1);
+        out.push(
+          <a
+            key={key++}
+            href={`https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/${encodeURIComponent(tag)}`}
+            target="_blank"
+            rel="noreferrer"
+            className={linkCls}
+          >
+            {m[2]}
+          </a>
+        );
+      } else {
+        const ts = m[3];
+        out.push(
+          <button
+            key={key++}
+            onClick={() => opts.onSeek(tsToSeconds(ts))}
+            className="text-accent hover:underline"
+          >
+            {ts}
+          </button>
+        );
+      }
+      last = m.index + m[0].length;
+    }
+    if (last < chunk.length) out.push(<span key={key++}>{chunk.slice(last)}</span>);
+  }
+  return out;
+}
+
 // 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 in-card Close
@@ -62,6 +204,24 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
   const playerRef = useRef<any>(null);
   const autoMarkedRef = useRef(false);
 
+  // The player can navigate to other videos (YouTube links in a description). The
+  // currently-playing id may differ from the feed video we opened with.
+  const [currentVideoId, setCurrentVideoId] = useState(video.id);
+  const currentIdRef = useRef(video.id);
+  const navigated = currentVideoId !== video.id;
+  // Title/author of a navigated-to video, read from the player (free, no API call).
+  const [liveData, setLiveData] = useState<{ title?: string; author?: string } | null>(null);
+
+  const loadVideo = (id: string, start: number | null) => {
+    const p = playerRef.current;
+    if (!p || typeof p.loadVideoById !== "function") return;
+    const startSeconds = start != null ? start : loadPos(id);
+    p.loadVideoById({ videoId: id, startSeconds: startSeconds || 0 });
+    currentIdRef.current = id;
+    setCurrentVideoId(id);
+    setLiveData(null);
+  };
+
   // Local mirror of watch status so the toggle reacts instantly; changes are
   // propagated to the feed (and server) via onState.
   const [status, setStatus] = useState(video.status);
@@ -72,6 +232,14 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     onState(video.id, next);
   };
 
+  const seekTo = (seconds: number) => {
+    const p = playerRef.current;
+    if (p && typeof p.seekTo === "function") {
+      p.seekTo(seconds, true);
+      p.playVideo?.();
+    }
+  };
+
   // Lazy description (fetched only when the title is hovered). The popover is
   // portaled to <body> with fixed positioning so the modal card's overflow-y-auto
   // can't clip it. A small close grace lets the mouse travel title → popover.
@@ -81,14 +249,16 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
   const [descRect, setDescRect] = useState<{ left: number; bottom: number; width: number } | null>(
     null
   );
-  const titleRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null);
+  const titleRef = useRef<HTMLSpanElement | null>(null);
   const closeTimer = useRef<number | undefined>(undefined);
   const openDesc = () => {
     window.clearTimeout(closeTimer.current);
     const el = titleRef.current;
     if (el) {
       const r = el.getBoundingClientRect();
-      setDescRect({ left: r.left, bottom: window.innerHeight - r.top + 8, width: r.width });
+      const width = Math.min(560, window.innerWidth - 32);
+      const left = Math.max(16, Math.min(r.left, window.innerWidth - width - 16));
+      setDescRect({ left, bottom: window.innerHeight - r.top + 8, width });
     }
     setShowDesc(true);
   };
@@ -96,9 +266,11 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     closeTimer.current = window.setTimeout(() => setShowDesc(false), 150);
   };
   const detail = useQuery({
-    queryKey: ["video-detail", video.id],
-    queryFn: () => api.videoDetail(video.id),
-    enabled: showDesc,
+    queryKey: ["video-detail", currentVideoId],
+    queryFn: () => api.videoDetail(currentVideoId),
+    // On hover (for the description) and eagerly when navigated, so we can link the
+    // linked video's channel. Both share the one cached result.
+    enabled: showDesc || navigated,
     staleTime: 5 * 60_000,
   });
 
@@ -123,8 +295,10 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
     let cancelled = false;
     const id = video.id;
 
+    // Auto-watch only applies to the feed video we opened with — not to other
+    // videos the player navigated to via description links.
     const maybeAutoWatch = (current: number, duration: number) => {
-      if (autoMarkedRef.current || duration <= 0) return;
+      if (autoMarkedRef.current || duration <= 0 || currentIdRef.current !== id) return;
       if (current > duration - FINISH_MARGIN) {
         autoMarkedRef.current = true;
         setWatched(true);
@@ -137,7 +311,7 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
         const cur = p.getCurrentTime();
         const dur = typeof p.getDuration === "function" ? p.getDuration() : 0;
         maybeAutoWatch(cur, dur);
-        savePos(id, cur, dur);
+        savePos(currentIdRef.current, cur, dur); // key progress by what's actually playing
       } catch {
         /* player may be tearing down */
       }
@@ -159,8 +333,14 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
         },
         events: {
           onStateChange: (e: any) => {
-            // 0 === ended → mark watched even if the timer hasn't fired yet.
-            if (e?.data === 0 && !autoMarkedRef.current) {
+            // 1 === playing → sync the navigated-to video's title/author for display.
+            if (e?.data === 1) {
+              const p = playerRef.current;
+              const d = p && typeof p.getVideoData === "function" ? p.getVideoData() : null;
+              if (d) setLiveData({ title: d.title, author: d.author });
+            }
+            // 0 === ended → mark watched (guarded to the feed video inside maybeAutoWatch).
+            if (e?.data === 0 && !autoMarkedRef.current && currentIdRef.current === id) {
               autoMarkedRef.current = true;
               setWatched(true);
             }
@@ -207,16 +387,27 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
         <div className="p-4 sm:p-5">
           {/* Title row — title (with hover description) on the left, Close on the right. */}
           <div className="flex items-start gap-3">
-            <div
-              ref={titleRef}
-              className="min-w-0 flex-1"
-              onMouseEnter={openDesc}
-              onMouseLeave={scheduleCloseDesc}
-            >
-              <h2 className="text-lg font-semibold leading-snug cursor-default">
-                {video.title}
-              </h2>
-            </div>
+            <h2 className="min-w-0 flex-1 text-lg font-semibold leading-snug">
+              {/* Hover target is the text itself (inline), not the whole row. */}
+              <span
+                ref={titleRef}
+                className="cursor-default"
+                onMouseEnter={openDesc}
+                onMouseLeave={scheduleCloseDesc}
+              >
+                {navigated ? liveData?.title ?? "Loading…" : video.title}
+              </span>
+            </h2>
+            {navigated && (
+              <button
+                onClick={() => loadVideo(video.id, null)}
+                title="Back to the original video"
+                className="shrink-0 inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg text-muted hover:text-fg hover:bg-surface transition"
+              >
+                <ArrowLeft className="w-4 h-4" />
+                Back
+              </button>
+            )}
             {showDesc &&
               descRect &&
               createPortal(
@@ -236,8 +427,12 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
                   {detail.isLoading ? (
                     <div className="text-sm text-muted">Loading…</div>
                   ) : detail.data?.description ? (
-                    <div className="text-sm whitespace-pre-wrap max-h-64 overflow-y-auto leading-relaxed">
-                      {detail.data.description}
+                    <div className="text-sm whitespace-pre-wrap break-words max-h-64 overflow-y-auto leading-relaxed">
+                      {renderDescription(detail.data.description, {
+                        currentId: currentVideoId,
+                        onSeek: seekTo,
+                        onLoadVideo: loadVideo,
+                      })}
                     </div>
                   ) : (
                     <div className="text-sm text-muted">No description.</div>
@@ -255,49 +450,81 @@ export default function PlayerModal({
             </button>
           </div>
 
-          {/* Channel + meta on one line, with the watched toggle pushed to the right. */}
+          {/* Channel + meta on one line, with the watched toggle pushed to the right.
+              When navigated to a linked video we only have its author (from the player),
+              so we show that as plain text and hide feed-video-specific bits. */}
           <div className="flex items-center gap-3 mt-3">
-            {video.channel_thumbnail && (
+            {!navigated && video.channel_thumbnail && (
               <img
                 src={video.channel_thumbnail}
                 alt=""
                 className="w-9 h-9 rounded-full shrink-0"
               />
             )}
-            <a
-              href={video.channel_url}
-              target="_blank"
-              rel="noreferrer"
-              className="font-medium hover:text-accent shrink-0"
-            >
-              {video.channel_title}
-            </a>
-            <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-2 gap-y-0.5 text-sm text-muted min-w-0">
-              {video.view_count != null && <span>· {formatViews(video.view_count)} views</span>}
-              <span>· {relativeTime(video.published_at)}</span>
-              {video.duration_seconds != null && (
-                <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>
+            {navigated ? (
+              detail.data?.channel_id ? (
+                <a
+                  href={`https://www.youtube.com/channel/${detail.data.channel_id}`}
+                  target="_blank"
+                  rel="noreferrer"
+                  className="font-medium hover:text-accent shrink-0"
+                >
+                  {liveData?.author ?? detail.data.channel_title ?? "Channel"}
+                </a>
+              ) : (
+                <span className="font-medium shrink-0">{liveData?.author ?? ""}</span>
+              )
+            ) : (
+              <a
+                href={video.channel_url}
+                target="_blank"
+                rel="noreferrer"
+                className="font-medium hover:text-accent shrink-0"
+              >
+                {video.channel_title}
+              </a>
+            )}
+            {!navigated ? (
+              <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-2 gap-y-0.5 text-sm text-muted min-w-0">
+                {video.view_count != null && <span>· {formatViews(video.view_count)} views</span>}
+                <span>· {relativeTime(video.published_at)}</span>
+                {video.duration_seconds != null && (
+                  <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>
+            ) : (
+              // Linked video's stats come from the (already-fetched) video detail.
+              <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-x-2 gap-y-0.5 text-sm text-muted min-w-0">
+                {detail.data?.view_count != null && (
+                  <span>· {formatViews(detail.data.view_count)} views</span>
+                )}
+                {detail.data?.published_at && <span>· {relativeTime(detail.data.published_at)}</span>}
+                {detail.data?.duration_seconds != null && (
+                  <span>· {formatDuration(detail.data.duration_seconds)}</span>
+                )}
+              </div>
+            )}
 
-            <button
-              onClick={() => setWatched(!watched)}
-              title={watched ? "Watched — click to unmark" : "Mark watched"}
-              className={
-                "ml-auto shrink-0 inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg transition " +
-                (watched
-                  ? "bg-accent text-accent-fg shadow-sm hover:opacity-90"
-                  : "text-muted hover:text-fg hover:bg-surface border border-border")
-              }
-            >
-              {watched ? <CheckCheck className="w-4 h-4" /> : <Check className="w-4 h-4" />}
-              {watched ? "Watched" : "Mark watched"}
-            </button>
+            {!navigated && (
+              <button
+                onClick={() => setWatched(!watched)}
+                title={watched ? "Watched — click to unmark" : "Mark watched"}
+                className={
+                  "ml-auto shrink-0 inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg transition " +
+                  (watched
+                    ? "bg-accent text-accent-fg shadow-sm hover:opacity-90"
+                    : "text-muted hover:text-fg hover:bg-surface border border-border")
+                }
+              >
+                {watched ? <CheckCheck className="w-4 h-4" /> : <Check className="w-4 h-4" />}
+                {watched ? "Watched" : "Mark watched"}
+              </button>
+            )}
           </div>
         </div>
       </div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
index 733d55d..fee444c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/api.ts
@@ -51,6 +51,12 @@ export interface VideoDetail {
   id: string;
   description: string | null;
   like_count: number | null;
+  in_db: boolean;
+  channel_id: string | null;
+  channel_title: string | null;
+  published_at: string | null;
+  view_count: number | null;
+  duration_seconds: number | null;
 }
 
 export interface FeedResponse {