diff --git a/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte b/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte
index 5850bcd..bd1d8a5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/routes/home3/+page.svelte
@@ -26,10 +26,16 @@
   // truncation handled by CSS (-webkit-line-clamp:2) — breaks on whole words, fills 2 full lines
   let headline = $derived(news?.title ?? 'What went right this week: the good news that actually matters');
 
-  // The badge shows how long the FULL source article takes — the contrast that sells
-  // the gist ("the calm 1-min version here; ~10 min if you want the deep dive"). Computed
-  // server-side from the source word count; hidden entirely when we couldn't measure it.
-  let fullRead = $derived(news?.source_read_minutes ? `Full story · ~${news.source_read_minutes} min` : '');
+  // Sell the value proposition right on the card: the quick UB brief vs. the full article.
+  //   "1 min brief · ~10 min full story"  (both known)
+  //   "1 min brief"                       (full-story time unknown — never fake it)
+  //   hidden                              (no brief/summary yet)
+  const briefMins = (t) => Math.max(1, Math.round((t || '').trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length / 200));
+  let readBadge = $derived.by(() => {
+    if (!news?.summary) return '';
+    const brief = `${briefMins(news.summary)} min brief`;
+    return news.source_read_minutes ? `${brief} · ~${news.source_read_minutes} min full story` : brief;
+  });
 
   // small-joys shelf: 3 cells shown two at a time, rotated by the reader (no auto-motion)
   const JOY_ACCENTS = ['#4f7da8', '#b06a86', '#b06a45'];
@@ -130,7 +136,7 @@
           <p class="summary">{news?.summary || "We read the week so you don't have to doomscroll it. Five quietly hopeful stories, summarised to the gist."}</p>
         </a>
         <div class="news-foot">
-          {#if fullRead}<span class="meta">{fullRead}</span>{/if}
+          {#if readBadge}<span class="meta">{readBadge}</span>{/if}
         </div>
         <hr class="news-div" />
         <a class="news-more" href="/">Read more good news →</a>