diff --git a/backend/src/index.ts b/backend/src/index.ts
index a449d42..25937c3 100644
--- a/backend/src/index.ts
+++ b/backend/src/index.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { errorHandler } from './middleware/errorHandler';
 import authRoutes from './routes/authRoutes';
 import podcastRoutes from './routes/podcastRoutes';
 import episodeRoutes from './routes/episodeRoutes';
+import audioRoutes from './routes/audioRoutes';
 
 const app = express();
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 5000;
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ app.get('/api/health', (req, res) => {
 app.use('/api/auth', authRoutes);
 app.use('/api/podcasts', apiLimiter, podcastRoutes);
 app.use('/api/episodes', apiLimiter, episodeRoutes);
+app.use('/api/audio', audioRoutes);
 
 // Serve frontend static files in production
 const frontendDist = path.join(__dirname, '..', 'public');
diff --git a/backend/src/routes/audioRoutes.ts b/backend/src/routes/audioRoutes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b9ce86f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/src/routes/audioRoutes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+import { Router, Request, Response } from 'express';
+import https from 'https';
+import http from 'http';
+
+const router = Router();
+
+// Block private/loopback ranges to prevent SSRF
+const BLOCKED = [
+  /^127\./,
+  /^10\./,
+  /^192\.168\./,
+  /^172\.(1[6-9]|2\d|3[01])\./,
+  /^::1$/,
+  /^localhost$/i,
+];
+
+function isBlocked(hostname: string): boolean {
+  return BLOCKED.some(r => r.test(hostname));
+}
+
+router.get('/proxy', (req: Request, res: Response) => {
+  const raw = req.query.url as string;
+  if (!raw) { res.status(400).json({ message: 'url required' }); return; }
+
+  let parsed: URL;
+  try {
+    parsed = new URL(raw);
+  } catch {
+    res.status(400).json({ message: 'Invalid URL' }); return;
+  }
+
+  if (!['http:', 'https:'].includes(parsed.protocol)) {
+    res.status(400).json({ message: 'Protocol not allowed' }); return;
+  }
+  if (isBlocked(parsed.hostname)) {
+    res.status(403).json({ message: 'Forbidden' }); return;
+  }
+
+  const upstream: Record<string, string> = {
+    'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Podcastic/1.0)',
+    'Accept': '*/*',
+  };
+  if (req.headers.range) upstream['Range'] = req.headers.range;
+
+  const lib = parsed.protocol === 'https:' ? https : http;
+
+  const proxyReq = lib.request(raw, { headers: upstream }, (proxyRes) => {
+    res.setHeader('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*');
+    res.setHeader('Access-Control-Expose-Headers', 'Content-Length, Content-Range, Content-Type, Accept-Ranges');
+
+    const forward = ['content-type', 'content-length', 'content-range', 'accept-ranges'];
+    for (const h of forward) {
+      const v = proxyRes.headers[h];
+      if (v) res.setHeader(h, v);
+    }
+
+    res.status(proxyRes.statusCode ?? 200);
+    proxyRes.pipe(res);
+  });
+
+  proxyReq.on('error', () => {
+    if (!res.headersSent) res.status(502).json({ message: 'Proxy error' });
+  });
+
+  req.on('close', () => proxyReq.destroy());
+  proxyReq.end();
+});
+
+export default router;
diff --git a/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx b/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx
index e816ab2..8820d8c 100644
--- a/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/context/AudioContext.tsx
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const [userId, setUserId] = useState<string | null>(null);
 
-  // CORS retry: start with CORS for real frequency data, fall back if blocked
-  const [corsMode, setCorsMode] = useState<'cors' | 'no-cors'>('cors');
+  // Audio source mode: direct CORS → backend proxy (always CORS) → give up
+  const [corsMode, setCorsMode] = useState<'cors' | 'proxy' | 'no-cors'>('cors');
 
   // Refs for interval-based progress saving
   const currentTimeRef = useRef(0);
@@ -118,9 +118,9 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
     }).catch(() => setIsResuming(false));
   }, [currentEpisode?._id, userId]);
 
-  // Initialize Web Audio Analyser (only in CORS mode)
+  // Initialize Web Audio Analyser (CORS or proxy mode — both have CORS headers)
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (corsMode !== 'cors' || !audioRef.current || !currentEpisode) return;
+    if (corsMode === 'no-cors' || !audioRef.current || !currentEpisode) return;
 
     try {
       const AudioCtx = (window as any).AudioContext || (window as any).webkitAudioContext;
@@ -212,7 +212,11 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
 
   const handleAudioError = () => {
     if (corsMode === 'cors') {
-      // CORS blocked the audio — retry without CORS (sound works, no real frequency data)
+      // Direct CORS failed — retry via backend proxy (adds CORS headers, Web Audio works)
+      setCorsMode('proxy');
+      setError(null);
+    } else if (corsMode === 'proxy') {
+      // Proxy also failed — last resort: plain audio, no Web Audio analysis
       setCorsMode('no-cors');
       setError(null);
     } else {
@@ -231,8 +235,10 @@ export function AudioProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         <audio
           key={`${currentEpisode._id}-${corsMode}`}
           ref={audioRef}
-          src={currentEpisode.audioUrl}
-          crossOrigin={corsMode === 'cors' ? 'anonymous' : undefined}
+          src={corsMode === 'proxy'
+            ? `/api/audio/proxy?url=${encodeURIComponent(currentEpisode.audioUrl)}`
+            : currentEpisode.audioUrl}
+          crossOrigin={corsMode !== 'no-cors' ? 'anonymous' : undefined}
           onTimeUpdate={() => audioRef.current && setCurrentTime(audioRef.current.currentTime)}
           onLoadedMetadata={() => {
             if (!audioRef.current) return;