diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 725ea43..30c7ad4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - Swiping to the next or previous item takes a longer swipe, a quarter of the screen, so a
   diagonal scroll no longer jumps ahead by accident. The item follows your finger and slides
   across as it changes.
+- Swiping between items on a phone no longer shows the item list through the reader. The next
+  or previous item sits beside the one you are reading and comes across with it, the end of the
+  list says so, and swiping right from the first item draws the reader off the list, dimmed
+  until it is uncovered. A swipe from the screen's left edge stays with the page, rather than
+  Safari taking it as Back.
 
 ## [0.8.4] - 2026-09-19
 
diff --git a/tests/ui/app.spec.js b/tests/ui/app.spec.js
index 5d1b722..f8dc334 100644
--- a/tests/ui/app.spec.js
+++ b/tests/ui/app.spec.js
@@ -1211,14 +1211,15 @@ test.describe('touch gestures on a phone', () => {
   test.use({ viewport: { width: 390, height: 844 }, hasTouch: true, isMobile: true });
 
   // Playwright's touchscreen only taps; a drag goes through the DevTools protocol.
-  async function drag(page, from, to) {
+  async function drag(page, from, to, lift = true) {
     const cdp = await page.context().newCDPSession(page);
     const steps = 8;
     await cdp.send('Input.dispatchTouchEvent', { type: 'touchStart', touchPoints: [from] });
     for (let i = 1; i <= steps; i++)
       await cdp.send('Input.dispatchTouchEvent', { type: 'touchMove', touchPoints: [{
         x: from.x + (to.x - from.x) * i / steps, y: from.y + (to.y - from.y) * i / steps }] });
-    await cdp.send('Input.dispatchTouchEvent', { type: 'touchEnd', touchPoints: [] });
+    if (lift) await cdp.send('Input.dispatchTouchEvent', { type: 'touchEnd', touchPoints: [] });
+    return cdp;
   }
 
   test('a swipe moves between items, and right from the first goes back to the list', async ({ page }) => {
@@ -1234,6 +1235,14 @@ test.describe('touch gestures on a phone', () => {
     await drag(page, { x: 300, y: 400 }, { x: 230, y: 410 });     // too short: stays (#49)
     await expect(shown).toHaveText(titles[0]);
     await expect(page.locator('#detail')).not.toHaveAttribute('style', /translate/);  // springs back
+    // Held partway: the next item is beside the reader, not the list under it (#52), and
+    // let go short of a swipe, it goes again.
+    const held = await drag(page, { x: 300, y: 400 }, { x: 230, y: 405 }, false);
+    await expect(page.locator('#dpeek.next .dt')).toHaveText(titles[1]);
+    await expect(page.locator('#detail')).toHaveCSS('opacity', '1');
+    await held.send('Input.dispatchTouchEvent', { type: 'touchEnd', touchPoints: [] });
+    await expect(page.locator('#dpeek')).toHaveCount(0);
+    await expect(shown).toHaveText(titles[0]);
     await drag(page, { x: 300, y: 400 }, { x: 80, y: 410 });      // left: the next item
     await expect(shown).toHaveText(titles[1]);
     await drag(page, { x: 300, y: 400 }, { x: 80, y: 410 });      // left on the last: stays
diff --git a/web/app.css b/web/app.css
index a34f413..f5849c7 100644
--- a/web/app.css
+++ b/web/app.css
@@ -993,6 +993,18 @@ body:has(#player.on) #status{padding-bottom:3px}
   #detail{position:fixed;inset:0;z-index:38;display:none;border-top:0;padding:12px 16px 90px}
   body.reading #detail{display:block}
   #dback{display:inline-block;margin-bottom:10px}
+  /* Beside the reader while it is swiped (gestures.ts): the item next to it, with a strip of the
+     page's own background between them, so the list under the reader never shows (#52). */
+  #dpeek{position:fixed;top:0;bottom:0;left:0;width:calc(100% + 16px);z-index:38;background:var(--bg);pointer-events:none}
+  #dpeek>div{width:calc(100% - 16px);height:100%;overflow:hidden;padding:12px 16px 90px;background:var(--panel)}
+  #dpeek.next>div{margin-left:16px}
+  #dpeek .encbox{margin:0 0 10px}
+  #dpeek.end{display:flex;align-items:center;padding-left:28px;color:var(--faint);font-size:13px}
+  #dpeek.end p{max-width:4.5em;margin:0}
+  /* Going back to the list from the first item: the list waits under a dimmer that lifts as the
+     reader, shadowed along its edge, is drawn off it. */
+  #dpeek.dim{width:100%;z-index:37;background:#000}
+  #detail.popping{box-shadow:-12px 0 32px rgba(0,0,0,.28)}
 
   #content>.fhead,#content>.toolbar{padding-left:14px;padding-right:14px}
   #content>.fhead{padding-top:12px}
@@ -1104,6 +1116,7 @@ body:has(#player.on) #status{padding-bottom:3px}
 :root[data-theme="glass"] #status,
 :root[data-theme="glass"] #files,
 :root[data-theme="glass"] #detail,
+:root[data-theme="glass"] #dpeek>div,
 :root[data-theme="glass"] .card,
 :root[data-theme="glass"] .toast{
   /* A sheen from the top-left corner, where the light comes from. It is a background layer rather
@@ -1151,6 +1164,7 @@ body:has(#player.on) #status{padding-bottom:3px}
   :root[data-theme="glass"] #status,
   :root[data-theme="glass"] #files,
   :root[data-theme="glass"] #detail,
+  :root[data-theme="glass"] #dpeek>div,
   :root[data-theme="glass"] .card,
   :root[data-theme="glass"] .toast,
   :root[data-theme="glass"] .tgroup,
diff --git a/web/src/gestures.ts b/web/src/gestures.ts
index 3cd1150..a53fab3 100644
--- a/web/src/gestures.ts
+++ b/web/src/gestures.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@ const PULL = 70;    // px down, from the list's top, that counts as a pull
 // A quarter of the reader's width across, and never less than 100px: at a flat 60px a thumb
 // scrolling slightly on the diagonal jumped to the next item by accident (issue #49).
 const swipeMin = () => Math.max(100, ($('#detail')?.clientWidth || 0) / 4);
+const GAP = 16;     // px of page between two items side by side, so they read as two sheets
+const narrow = () => !!window.matchMedia?.('(max-width:820px)')?.matches;
+const still = () => !!window.matchMedia?.('(prefers-reduced-motion:reduce)')?.matches;
 
 let touch: {x: number, y: number, t: number, pane: 'list' | 'detail', dx: number, dy: number} | null = null;
 
@@ -48,9 +51,15 @@ document.addEventListener('touchstart', ev => {
   const t = ev.touches[0], target = ev.target as Element;
   const detail = target.closest?.('#detail'), list = target.closest?.('#list');
   // Reading means an item is open; the reader is its own screen on a phone, a pane otherwise.
-  if(detail && S.sel && !ownsSwipe(target)) touch = {x: t.clientX, y: t.clientY, t: Date.now(), pane: 'detail', dx: 0, dy: 0};
+  if(detail && S.sel && !ownsSwipe(target)){
+    touch = {x: t.clientX, y: t.clientY, t: Date.now(), pane: 'detail', dx: 0, dy: 0};
+    // Safari takes a swipe from the screen's left edge as Back, which leaves the page halfway
+    // through going back to the list. Kept narrower than the reader's padding, so a tap on the
+    // back button is never swallowed with it.
+    if(t.clientX < 14 && narrow() && ev.cancelable) ev.preventDefault();
+  }
   else if(list && list.scrollTop <= 0 && !VIEWS[S.feed]?.url) touch = {x: t.clientX, y: t.clientY, t: Date.now(), pane: 'list', dx: 0, dy: 0};
-}, {passive: true});
+}, {passive: false});
 
 document.addEventListener('touchmove', ev => {
   if(!touch) return;
@@ -69,25 +78,65 @@ document.addEventListener('touchmove', ev => {
     // with nothing that way it only gives a little.
     const i = S.entries.findIndex(x => x.guid === S.sel);
     const end = touch.dx < 0 && i >= S.entries.length - 1;
-    slide(end ? touch.dx / 4 : touch.dx, false);
+    slide(end ? touch.dx / 3 : touch.dx, 0);
   }
 }, {passive: false});
 
-/// Moves the reader across by dx, sliding there unless told not to (when following a finger).
-function slide(dx: number, animate = true){
-  const d = $('#detail'); if(!d) return;
-  d.style.transition = animate ? 'transform .16s ease-out, opacity .16s ease-out' : 'none';
-  d.style.transform = dx ? `translateX(${dx}px)` : '';
-  d.style.opacity = dx ? String(Math.max(.4, 1 - Math.abs(dx) / (d.clientWidth || 1))) : '';
+/// On a phone, what lies beside the reader while it is dragged by dx: the item it will move on
+/// to, a note that there are no more, or, going back to the list, a dimmer over the list. The
+/// reader sits over the list there, and moving it alone showed the list through the gap it left
+/// (issue #52). Kept outside #content, which every feed render rebuilds, and inert, since its
+/// copy of the reader's markup repeats the reader's ids.
+function beside(dx: number){
+  const i = S.entries.findIndex(x => x.guid === S.sel), e = S.entries[i + (dx < 0 ? 1 : -1)];
+  const kind = dx < 0 ? (e ? 'next' : 'end') : (e ? 'prev' : 'dim');
+  let p = $('#dpeek');
+  if(!p){
+    p = document.createElement('div'); p.id = 'dpeek'; p.inert = true; p.setAttribute('aria-hidden', 'true');
+    document.body.append(p);
+  }
+  if(p.dataset.key !== kind + (e?.guid || '')){
+    p.dataset.key = kind + (e?.guid || ''); p.className = kind;
+    p.innerHTML = e ? `<div>${detailHtml(e)}</div>` : kind === 'end' ? '<p>No more items</p>' : '';
+  }
+  return p;
 }
 
-/// The reader slides off the way the finger went, the next item comes in from the other side.
-/// Timers, not transitionend, because with reduced motion the stylesheet turns transitions off
-/// and transitionend never comes.
-function slideOn(dir: number, go: () => void){
-  const w = $('#detail')?.clientWidth || 0;
-  slide(dir * w);
-  setTimeout(() => { go(); slide(-dir * w, false); requestAnimationFrame(() => requestAnimationFrame(() => slide(0))); }, 160);
+/// Moves the reader across by dx over ms, or at once (when following a finger), and what lies
+/// beside it with it.
+function slide(dx: number, ms = 160){
+  const d = $('#detail'); if(!d) return;
+  dx = Math.round(dx);   // whole pixels, or the seam between the reader and its neighbour blurs
+  const w = d.clientWidth || 1, tr = ms ? `transform ${ms}ms ease-out, opacity ${ms}ms ease-out` : 'none';
+  d.style.transition = tr;
+  d.style.transform = dx ? `translateX(${dx}px)` : '';
+  // A wider screen has the reader as a pane beside the list, with nothing under it to show.
+  if(!narrow()){ d.style.opacity = dx ? String(Math.max(.4, 1 - Math.abs(dx) / w)) : ''; return; }
+  const p = dx ? beside(dx) : $('#dpeek');
+  d.classList.toggle('popping', !!dx && p?.className === 'dim');
+  if(!p) return;
+  p.style.transition = tr;
+  if(p.className === 'dim') p.style.opacity = String(.35 * (1 - Math.abs(dx) / w));
+  else p.style.transform = `translateX(${dx + (p.className === 'prev' ? -w - GAP : w)}px)`;
+  // Gone once the reader is back, unless another drag has already begun.
+  if(!dx){ if(ms) setTimeout(() => { if(!touch) $('#dpeek')?.remove(); }, ms); else p.remove(); }
+}
+
+/// The reader carries on the way the finger went, from wherever it was let go, and the item
+/// beside it becomes the reader in its place. Timers, not transitionend, because with reduced
+/// motion the stylesheet turns transitions off and transitionend never comes.
+function slideOn(dx: number, go: () => void){
+  const d = $('#detail'), w = d?.clientWidth || 0, dir = Math.sign(dx);
+  if(!narrow()){
+    // A pane beside the list: off one side, and the next item in from the other.
+    slide(dir * w);
+    setTimeout(() => { go(); slide(-dir * w, 0); requestAnimationFrame(() => requestAnimationFrame(() => slide(0))); }, 160);
+    return;
+  }
+  const to = dir * (w + (beside(dx).className === 'dim' ? 0 : GAP));
+  const ms = still() ? 0 : Math.round(Math.max(120, 250 * (1 - Math.abs(dx) / (w || 1))));
+  slide(to, ms);
+  setTimeout(() => { go(); slide(0, 0); }, ms);
 }
 
 document.addEventListener('touchend', () => {
@@ -102,8 +151,8 @@ document.addEventListener('touchend', () => {
   const i = S.entries.findIndex(x => x.guid === S.sel);
   if(Math.abs(g.dx) < swipeMin() || Math.abs(g.dx) < 2 * Math.abs(g.dy) || Date.now() - g.t > 800
     || (g.dx < 0 && i >= S.entries.length - 1)) return slide(0);
-  if(g.dx < 0) return slideOn(-1, () => stepEntry(1));
-  if(i > 0) return slideOn(1, () => stepEntry(-1));
-  slide(0); showDetail(null);
+  if(g.dx < 0) return slideOn(g.dx, () => stepEntry(1));
+  if(i > 0) return slideOn(g.dx, () => stepEntry(-1));
+  slideOn(g.dx, () => showDetail(null));
 });
 document.addEventListener('touchcancel', () => { if(touch?.pane === 'list') pullShow(0); else slide(0); touch = null; });
diff --git a/web/src/items.ts b/web/src/items.ts
index ec6bb6b..c6ed23d 100644
--- a/web/src/items.ts
+++ b/web/src/items.ts
@@ -230,6 +230,19 @@ function showDetail(e){
   }
   // Nothing when there are no files: the pane that would say so is hidden above, and on a phone,
   // where the files sit over the text, a box saying "No files" only pushed the text down.
+  const encs=e.enclosures.map(encBox).join('');
+  const narrow=!!window.matchMedia?.('(max-width:820px)')?.matches;
+  box.innerHTML=detailHtml(e);
+  if(files) files.innerHTML=narrow?'':`<div class="fhd">Files</div>${encs}`;
+  $('#dback').onclick=()=>showDetail(null);
+  for(const root of [box,files]) if(root) $$('button[data-a]',root).forEach(b=>
+    b.onclick=()=>epAction(b.dataset.a,e,null,b.dataset.enc?Number(b.dataset.enc):null));
+  syncPlayButtons();
+}
+
+/// What the reader shows for an item. Its own function because a phone also draws the next or
+/// previous item beside the reader while it is swiped (gestures.ts).
+function detailHtml(e){
   const encs=e.enclosures.map(encBox).join('');
   // A phone has no room for the files pane, so the files go above the text there instead.
   // Below it, a long set of show notes pushed play and delete screens down, and on an iPhone
@@ -237,7 +250,8 @@ function showDetail(e){
   const narrow=!!window.matchMedia?.('(max-width:820px)')?.matches;
   const f=S.feeds.find(x=>x.id===e.feed_id);
   const num=[e.season?`S${e.season}`:'',e.episode?`E${e.episode}`:''].filter(Boolean).join('');
-  box.innerHTML=`
+  // description was sanitized server-side with ammonia before it ever reached here
+  return `
     <button class="btn ico" id="dback" title="Back to the items" aria-label="Back to the items">${ICON.left}</button>
     <h3 class="dt">${esc(e.title||'(untitled)')}</h3>
     <div class="dmeta">
@@ -254,12 +268,6 @@ function showDetail(e){
     </div>
     ${narrow?encs:''}
     <div class="dbody">${(e.description&&e.description.trim())||'<em>No show notes.</em>'}</div>`;
-  if(files) files.innerHTML=narrow?'':`<div class="fhd">Files</div>${encs}`;
-  // description was sanitized server-side with ammonia before it ever reached here
-  $('#dback').onclick=()=>showDetail(null);
-  for(const root of [box,files]) if(root) $$('button[data-a]',root).forEach(b=>
-    b.onclick=()=>epAction(b.dataset.a,e,null,b.dataset.enc?Number(b.dataset.enc):null));
-  syncPlayButtons();
 }
 
 /// One enclosure: a play button when the file is here, otherwise what it is and a way to get it.