diff --git a/public/media/video/ad_astra.vtt b/public/media/video/ad_astra.vtt
deleted file mode 100644
index 578c7b6..0000000
--- a/public/media/video/ad_astra.vtt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-WEBVTT
-
-00:00.000 --> 00:04.000
-No spoken dialogue. Game audio only.
-
-00:04.000 --> 00:35.000
-The Ad Astra handheld board runs the game on a small OLED display.
-
-00:35.000 --> 01:05.000
-The player controls the game through the IR input while the engine updates the display in real time.
-
-01:05.000 --> 01:34.600
-The clip continues showing gameplay on the custom ATtiny85-based board.
diff --git a/src/components/AtAGlance.astro b/src/components/AtAGlance.astro
index 37fd108..1ebdfa7 100644
--- a/src/components/AtAGlance.astro
+++ b/src/components/AtAGlance.astro
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ import ProjectLinks from './ProjectLinks.astro';
 type Link = CollectionEntry<'work'>['data']['links'][number];
 
 interface Props {
-  role?: string;
   projectPeriod?: string;
   stack?: string[];
   scale?: string;
@@ -14,18 +13,9 @@ interface Props {
   headingId: string;
 }
 
-const {
-  role,
-  projectPeriod,
-  stack = [],
-  scale,
-  outcome,
-  links = [],
-  headingId,
-} = Astro.props;
+const { projectPeriod, stack = [], scale, outcome, links = [], headingId } = Astro.props;
 
 const rows: Array<[string, string]> = [];
-if (role) rows.push(['Role', role]);
 if (projectPeriod) rows.push(['Period', projectPeriod]);
 if (stack.length > 0) rows.push(['Stack', stack.join(', ')]);
 if (scale) rows.push(['Scale', scale]);
diff --git a/src/components/PostMediaFigure.astro b/src/components/PostMediaFigure.astro
index 922a7a7..9277e6e 100644
--- a/src/components/PostMediaFigure.astro
+++ b/src/components/PostMediaFigure.astro
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ const videoHeight = item.type === 'video' ? (item.poster?.height ?? 720) : undef
   {
     item.type === 'video' ? (
       // Decorative videos stay inert and hidden from assistive tech. Meaningful
-      // videos expose controls, captions, and an accessible name.
+      // videos expose controls and an accessible name.
       item.decorative ? (
         <video
           muted
@@ -44,15 +44,6 @@ const videoHeight = item.type === 'video' ? (item.poster?.height ?? 720) : undef
         >
           {item.webm && <source src={item.webm} type="video/webm" />}
           {item.mp4 && <source src={item.mp4} type="video/mp4" />}
-          {item.captions && (
-            <track
-              kind="captions"
-              src={item.captions}
-              srclang="en"
-              label={item.captionsLabel}
-              default
-            />
-          )}
         </video>
       )
     ) : (
diff --git a/src/components/VideoThumbnail.astro b/src/components/VideoThumbnail.astro
index 0c80548..2d46ab9 100644
--- a/src/components/VideoThumbnail.astro
+++ b/src/components/VideoThumbnail.astro
@@ -111,17 +111,6 @@ const playScript = `
   >
     {video.webm && <source src={video.webm} type="video/webm" />}
     {video.mp4 && <source src={video.mp4} type="video/mp4" />}
-    {
-      video.captions && (
-        <track
-          kind="captions"
-          src={video.captions}
-          srclang="en"
-          label={video.captionsLabel}
-          default
-        />
-      )
-    }
   </video>
 
   <noscript>
diff --git a/src/content.config.ts b/src/content.config.ts
index 5d23885..f453391 100644
--- a/src/content.config.ts
+++ b/src/content.config.ts
@@ -64,13 +64,12 @@ const thumbnailSchema = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
     alt: z.string().min(1, 'Thumbnail alt text must not be empty.'),
   });
 
-// Partial thumbnail used by the project card to override just the image, just
-// the alt text, or both. Anything omitted falls back to the entry's top-level
-// thumbnail, so a card that only rewords its alt doesn't repeat the `src`.
+// Thumbnail override used by the project card to swap just the image when the
+// card wants a different crop from the article. The alt text is never
+// overridden, so it stays a single source of truth on the top-level thumbnail.
 const thumbnailOverrideSchema = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
   z.object({
-    src: image().optional(),
-    alt: z.string().min(1, 'Thumbnail alt text must not be empty.').optional(),
+    src: image(),
   });
 
 const mediaSchema = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
@@ -90,8 +89,6 @@ const mediaSchema = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
           poster: image().optional(),
           mp4: mediaUrl.optional(),
           webm: mediaUrl.optional(),
-          captions: mediaUrl.optional(),
-          captionsLabel: z.string().default('English captions'),
           alt: z.string().optional(),
           decorative: z.boolean().optional(),
           caption: z.string().optional(),
@@ -104,12 +101,6 @@ const mediaSchema = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
     .refine((item) => item.decorative || (Boolean(item.alt) && Boolean(item.caption)), {
       message: 'Meaningful media needs both alt text and a caption.',
     })
-    .refine(
-      (item) => item.type !== 'video' || item.decorative || Boolean(item.captions),
-      {
-        message: 'Meaningful video needs captions.',
-      }
-    )
     .refine(
       (item) => item.type !== 'video' || item.decorative || Boolean(item.transcript),
       {
@@ -130,11 +121,9 @@ const articleFacet = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
     iframeThumbnail: z.boolean().default(false),
     featuredOrder: z.number().optional(),
     tags: z.array(z.enum(TAGS)).default([]),
-    role: z.string().min(1).optional(),
     stack: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
     scale: z.string().min(1).optional(),
     outcome: z.string().min(1).optional(),
-    audience: z.enum(['general', 'technical', 'recruiter-relevant']).default('technical'),
     media: z.array(mediaSchema({ image })).default([]),
   });
 
@@ -145,7 +134,6 @@ const projectFacet = ({ image }: SchemaContext) =>
     technologies: z.array(z.string()).optional(),
     // Card overrides. When omitted, the card uses the top-level value.
     title: z.string().optional(),
-    description: z.string().max(160).optional(),
     thumbnail: thumbnailOverrideSchema({ image }).optional(),
   });
 
diff --git a/src/layouts/Post.astro b/src/layouts/Post.astro
index 5ed7500..1ff7199 100644
--- a/src/layouts/Post.astro
+++ b/src/layouts/Post.astro
@@ -137,7 +137,6 @@ const personJsonLd = buildPersonJsonLd();
 
     <AtAGlance
       headingId={`at-a-glance-${post.id}`}
-      role={post.data.article?.role}
       projectPeriod={post.data.period}
       stack={post.data.article?.stack}
       scale={post.data.article?.scale}
diff --git a/src/lib/site.ts b/src/lib/site.ts
index 0e23808..69b42be 100644
--- a/src/lib/site.ts
+++ b/src/lib/site.ts
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ import type { ImageMetadata } from 'astro';
 
 // Theme background colors, the single source of truth for the
 // <meta name="theme-color"> tags and the FOUC-prevention scripts (injected in
-// Base.astro and Header.astro). Keep --color-bg in global.css in sync; CSS
-// cannot import these values.
+// Base.astro and Header.astro). Keep --color-bg in styles/tokens.css in sync;
+// CSS cannot import these values.
 export const THEME_BG = { light: '#fbfaf7', dark: '#201f1d' };
 
 export const site = {
@@ -139,10 +139,10 @@ export function projectCard(entry: CollectionEntry<'work'>): ProjectCard {
   const project = data.project;
   return {
     title: project?.title ?? data.title,
-    description: project?.description ?? data.description,
+    description: data.description,
     thumbnail: {
       src: project?.thumbnail?.src ?? data.thumbnail.src,
-      alt: project?.thumbnail?.alt ?? data.thumbnail.alt,
+      alt: data.thumbnail.alt,
     },
     technologies: project?.technologies ?? data.article?.stack ?? [],
     selected: project?.selected ?? false,
diff --git a/src/pages/about.astro b/src/pages/about.astro
index 13fe8dd..f9265bb 100644
--- a/src/pages/about.astro
+++ b/src/pages/about.astro
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ const STARTING_POINTS = 5;
 
 const posts = await getArticles();
 const startingPoints = posts
-  .filter((post) => post.data.article?.audience === 'recruiter-relevant')
+  .filter((post) => post.data.article?.featuredOrder !== undefined)
   .sort(
     (a, b) =>
       (a.data.article?.featuredOrder ?? 99) - (b.data.article?.featuredOrder ?? 99)