diff --git a/recap/bin/tts.mjs b/recap/bin/tts.mjs
index 66dc060336..75a5e5ed5f 100755
--- a/recap/bin/tts.mjs
+++ b/recap/bin/tts.mjs
@@ -1,14 +1,25 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env node
 // tts.mjs — POST audience narration to /api/say, save MP3 to out/recap.mp3.
-// Usage: node bin/tts.mjs [audience-name]   (default: fia)
+//
+// Caching: keyed on a content hash of (narration text + voice provider +
+// voice id). If `out/recap.mp3` exists AND `out/recap.mp3.hash` matches
+// the current input hash, skip the /api/say call entirely (which costs
+// real money via ElevenLabs proxying). Pass `--force` to bypass.
+//
+// Usage:
+//   node bin/tts.mjs [audience-name]            (default: fia)
+//   node bin/tts.mjs jeffrey-73h-2026-05-02 --force
 
-import { writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { writeFileSync, mkdirSync, existsSync, readFileSync } from "node:fs";
 import { resolve, dirname } from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
 
 const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 const ROOT = resolve(HERE, "..");
-const audienceName = process.argv[2] || "fia";
+const argv = process.argv.slice(2);
+const force = argv.includes("--force");
+const audienceName = argv.find((a) => !a.startsWith("--")) || "fia";
 
 const { audience } = await import(`${ROOT}/audience/${audienceName}.mjs`);
 
@@ -18,6 +29,26 @@ const body = {
   voice: audience.voice.voice,
 };
 
+const inputHash = createHash("sha256")
+  .update(JSON.stringify(body))
+  .digest("hex")
+  .slice(0, 16);
+
+const out = `${ROOT}/out/recap.mp3`;
+const hashFile = `${out}.hash`;
+mkdirSync(`${ROOT}/out`, { recursive: true });
+
+// Skip if cached output matches the current input hash. ElevenLabs is
+// the only real-money step here, so skipping saves ~$ on every rerun.
+if (!force && existsSync(out) && existsSync(hashFile)) {
+  const cached = readFileSync(hashFile, "utf8").trim();
+  if (cached === inputHash) {
+    const size = (readFileSync(out).length / 1024).toFixed(0);
+    console.log(`✓ ${out} cached (${size} KB · hash ${inputHash}) — skipping /api/say`);
+    process.exit(0);
+  }
+}
+
 console.log(`→ POST /api/say · ${audience.narration.length} chars · ${audience.voice.provider}`);
 const res = await fetch("https://aesthetic.computer/api/say", {
   method: "POST",
@@ -32,6 +63,6 @@ if (!res.ok) {
 }
 
 const buf = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());
-const out = `${ROOT}/out/recap.mp3`;
 writeFileSync(out, buf);
-console.log(`✓ ${out} (${(buf.length / 1024).toFixed(0)} KB)`);
+writeFileSync(hashFile, inputHash + "\n");
+console.log(`✓ ${out} (${(buf.length / 1024).toFixed(0)} KB · hash ${inputHash})`);