diff --git a/marketing/podcast/bin/feed.mjs b/marketing/podcast/bin/feed.mjs
--- a/marketing/podcast/bin/feed.mjs
+++ b/marketing/podcast/bin/feed.mjs
@@ -60,6 +60,24 @@ .filter((e) => e && e.slug && e.audio);
 
 sidecars.sort((a, b) => new Date(b.pubDate) - new Date(a.pubDate)); // newest first
 
+// Local slug → hosted basename on the CDN (matches the papers siteName so the
+// same mp3 backs both the papers "podcast" link and this feed).
+const HOSTED = {
+  "may-26": "aesthetic-may-26-essay",
+  "june-26": "aesthetic-june-26-essay",
+};
+const host = (e) => HOSTED[e.slug] || e.slug;
+
+// HOSTED is also the PUBLISH ALLOWLIST — only episodes listed here go in the
+// public feed. This keeps local-only / confidential readings (e.g. the
+// REGARDE-adjacent "named-markets") out of the feed no matter what's in out/.
+for (let i = sidecars.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+  if (!HOSTED[sidecars[i].slug]) {
+    console.log(`  · excluding ${sidecars[i].slug} (not in publish allowlist)`);
+    sidecars.splice(i, 1);
+  }
+}
+
 if (!sidecars.length) {
   console.error("✗ no episodes found in out/ — run produce.mjs first.");
   process.exit(1);
@@ -90,8 +108,8 @@ length: e.lengthText,
     durationSec: e.durationSec,
     bytes: e.bytes,
     words: e.wordCount,
-    audio: `${BASE}/${e.audio}`,
-    cover: `${BASE}/${e.cover}`,
+    audio: `${BASE}/${host(e)}.mp3`,
+    cover: `${BASE}/${host(e)}-cover.png`,
     description: e.description,
     pubDate: e.pubDate,
   })),
@@ -101,16 +119,16 @@
 // ── feed.xml (RSS 2.0 + iTunes) ────────────────────────────────────────
 const items = sidecars.map((e) => `    <item>
       <title>${xml(e.title)}</title>
-      <link>${xml(CHANNEL.link)}/readings/${xml(e.slug)}</link>
+      <link>${xml(`https://papers.aesthetic.computer/${host(e)}.pdf`)}</link>
       <guid isPermaLink="false">ac-reading-${xml(e.slug)}</guid>
       <pubDate>${xml(e.pubDate)}</pubDate>
       <description>${xml(e.description)}</description>
       <itunes:summary>${xml(e.description)}</itunes:summary>
       <itunes:author>${xml(CHANNEL.author)}</itunes:author>
       <itunes:duration>${hms(e.durationSec)}</itunes:duration>
-      <itunes:image href="${xml(`${BASE}/${e.cover}`)}"/>
+      <itunes:image href="${xml(`${BASE}/${host(e)}-cover.png`)}"/>
       <itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit>
-      <enclosure url="${xml(`${BASE}/${e.audio}`)}" length="${e.bytes}" type="audio/mpeg"/>
+      <enclosure url="${xml(`${BASE}/${host(e)}.mp3`)}" length="${e.bytes}" type="audio/mpeg"/>
     </item>`).join("\n");
 
 const feed = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
diff --git a/marketing/podcast/bin/kits.mjs b/marketing/podcast/bin/kits.mjs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/marketing/podcast/bin/kits.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+// kits.mjs — audition the drum kits. Renders the lo-fi bed with each kit
+// (same pad+melody, different drums) back to back into one file so you can
+// hear them and pick. Order is printed; pass the winner to produce with --kit.
+//
+// Usage: node bin/kits.mjs [--secs 9] [--play]
+
+import { resolve, dirname } from "node:path";
+import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { mkdirSync, rmSync, writeFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { execFileSync, spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import { renderBed, KITS } from "./jingle.mjs";
+
+const HERE = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const ROOT = resolve(HERE, "..");
+const argv = process.argv.slice(2);
+const flag = (k, d) => { const i = argv.indexOf(`--${k}`); return i >= 0 ? argv[i + 1] : d; };
+const SECS = Number(flag("secs", 9));
+
+const outDir = resolve(ROOT, "out");
+mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true });
+const build = resolve(outDir, ".kit-audition");
+rmSync(build, { recursive: true, force: true });
+mkdirSync(build, { recursive: true });
+
+console.log(`\nAuditioning ${KITS.length} kits (${SECS}s each):\n`);
+const segs = [];
+KITS.forEach((kit, i) => {
+  const wav = resolve(build, `${String(i).padStart(2, "0")}-${kit}.wav`);
+  renderBed(SECS, wav, { kit });
+  // normalize each to a common format
+  const norm = resolve(build, `n${String(i).padStart(2, "0")}.wav`);
+  execFileSync("ffmpeg", ["-y", "-i", wav, "-ar", "44100", "-ac", "2", "-af", "loudnorm=I=-18:TP=-1.5", "-c:a", "pcm_s16le", norm], { stdio: "ignore" });
+  segs.push(norm);
+  const sil = resolve(build, `s${String(i).padStart(2, "0")}.wav`);
+  execFileSync("ffmpeg", ["-y", "-f", "lavfi", "-i", "anullsrc=r=44100:cl=stereo", "-t", "0.8", "-c:a", "pcm_s16le", sil], { stdio: "ignore" });
+  segs.push(sil);
+  console.log(`  ${i + 1}. ${kit}`);
+});
+
+const list = resolve(build, "list.txt");
+writeFileSync(list, segs.map((f) => `file '${f}'`).join("\n") + "\n");
+const outMp3 = resolve(outDir, "kit-audition.mp3");
+execFileSync("ffmpeg", ["-y", "-f", "concat", "-safe", "0", "-i", list, "-c:a", "libmp3lame", "-b:a", "220k", outMp3], { stdio: "ignore" });
+rmSync(build, { recursive: true, force: true });
+
+console.log(`\n✓ ${outMp3}`);
+if (argv.includes("--play")) {
+  spawnSync("open", ["-a", "QuickTime Player", outMp3]);
+  spawnSync("osascript", ["-e", 'tell application "QuickTime Player" to play the front document'], { stdio: "ignore" });
+}
diff --git a/marketing/podcast/bin/produce.mjs b/marketing/podcast/bin/produce.mjs
--- a/marketing/podcast/bin/produce.mjs
+++ b/marketing/podcast/bin/produce.mjs
@@ -250,10 +250,11 @@ "-y", "-i", voiceWav, "-af", "loudnorm=I=-16:TP=-1.5:LRA=11",
     "-c:a", "libmp3lame", "-b:a", "256k", audioTmp,
   ], { stdio: "ignore" });
 } else {
-  console.log("Scoring bed…");
+  const kit = flags.kit || "felt";
+  console.log(`Scoring bed… (kit: ${kit})`);
   const bedGain = flags.bedgain !== undefined ? Number(flags.bedgain) : 0.22;
   const bedWav = resolve(build, "bed.wav");
-  renderBed(dur(voiceWav) + 1.0, bedWav);
+  renderBed(dur(voiceWav) + 1.0, bedWav, { kit });
   // Voice chain (sharper + upfront): high-pass rumble, presence + air EQ,
   // gentle compression for a consistent forward level.
   const vox = "highpass=f=85," +