diff --git a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt
index 8580bd278..9ec76ca08 100644
--- a/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt
+++ b/buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/ProjectConfig.kt
@@ -55,6 +55,6 @@ const val NEWPIPE_APPLICATION_ID_NEW = "net.newpipe.app"
 // vc=19 / 0.1.0-AE — rust pipeline cutover. Extraction via
 // strawcore-core (Sulkta-Coop/strawcore) via the UniFFI wrapper; no
 // NewPipeExtractor in the runtime path.
-const val STRAW_VERSION_CODE = 60
-const val STRAW_VERSION_NAME = "0.1.0-BT"
+const val STRAW_VERSION_CODE = 61
+const val STRAW_VERSION_NAME = "0.1.0-BU"
 const val STRAW_APPLICATION_ID = "com.sulkta.straw"
diff --git a/rust/strawcore/src/feed.rs b/rust/strawcore/src/feed.rs
index ceaf572b4..2b8416a5d 100644
--- a/rust/strawcore/src/feed.rs
+++ b/rust/strawcore/src/feed.rs
@@ -225,10 +225,16 @@ fn parse_rss(body: &str, channel_id: String) -> Option<Vec<SearchItem>> {
                             thumbnail: thumbnail.clone(),
                             duration_seconds: 0,
                             view_count: 0,
-                            // RSS gives ISO-8601 timestamps. We pass them
-                            // through unchanged — newer-first sorting on
-                            // raw ISO strings is correct.
-                            upload_date_relative: published.clone(),
+                            // RSS gives RFC3339 timestamps. Convert to
+                            // the human-relative format Kotlin's
+                            // recencyScore parser expects ("N units
+                            // ago"). vc=56 was passing the raw ISO
+                            // through, which broke the sort comparator
+                            // — every item tied at MIN_VALUE so the
+                            // feed order was effectively random; LTT +
+                            // WTYP landed at top because they resolved
+                            // first in the fan-out. Caught 2026-05-26.
+                            upload_date_relative: iso_to_relative(&published),
                         });
                     }
                     in_entry = false;
@@ -255,6 +261,83 @@ enum TextTarget {
     Published,
 }
 
+/// Parse an RFC3339 timestamp (`2026-05-25T15:00:00+00:00`) into "N
+/// units ago". Drops the timezone offset — YT RSS always serves UTC
+/// and the granularity is days at most, so a ±14h skew doesn't matter
+/// for the relative display.
+///
+/// Falls back to the raw string if parsing fails. That keeps the UI
+/// readable even on a malformed feed (rare).
+fn iso_to_relative(iso: &str) -> String {
+    let secs = match parse_rfc3339_secs(iso) {
+        Some(s) => s,
+        None => return iso.to_string(),
+    };
+    let now_secs = std::time::SystemTime::now()
+        .duration_since(std::time::UNIX_EPOCH)
+        .map(|d| d.as_secs() as i64)
+        .unwrap_or(0);
+    format_relative(now_secs.saturating_sub(secs))
+}
+
+fn parse_rfc3339_secs(s: &str) -> Option<i64> {
+    if s.len() < 19 {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let date = s.get(..10)?;
+    let time = s.get(11..19)?;
+    if !s.is_char_boundary(10) || s.as_bytes().get(10) != Some(&b'T') {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let mut date_parts = date.split('-');
+    let y: i32 = date_parts.next()?.parse().ok()?;
+    let m: u32 = date_parts.next()?.parse().ok()?;
+    let d: u32 = date_parts.next()?.parse().ok()?;
+    let mut time_parts = time.split(':');
+    let hh: u32 = time_parts.next()?.parse().ok()?;
+    let mm: u32 = time_parts.next()?.parse().ok()?;
+    let ss: u32 = time_parts.next()?.parse().ok()?;
+    if !(1..=12).contains(&m) || !(1..=31).contains(&d) || hh > 23 || mm > 59 || ss > 60 {
+        return None;
+    }
+    let days = civil_to_days(y, m, d);
+    Some(days * 86_400 + hh as i64 * 3_600 + mm as i64 * 60 + ss as i64)
+}
+
+/// Howard Hinnant's days-since-1970-01-01 algorithm. Standard,
+/// branch-free, handles negative years correctly. Source: chrono
+/// proposal for C++20.
+fn civil_to_days(y: i32, m: u32, d: u32) -> i64 {
+    let y = if m <= 2 { y - 1 } else { y };
+    let era = if y >= 0 { y / 400 } else { (y - 399) / 400 };
+    let yoe = (y - era * 400) as u32;
+    let doy = (153 * (if m > 2 { m - 3 } else { m + 9 }) + 2) / 5 + d - 1;
+    let doe = yoe * 365 + yoe / 4 - yoe / 100 + doy;
+    era as i64 * 146_097 + doe as i64 - 719_468
+}
+
+fn format_relative(age_secs: i64) -> String {
+    let s = age_secs.max(0);
+    fn unit(n: i64, name: &str) -> String {
+        format!("{} {}{} ago", n, name, if n == 1 { "" } else { "s" })
+    }
+    if s < 60 {
+        unit(s, "second")
+    } else if s < 3_600 {
+        unit(s / 60, "minute")
+    } else if s < 86_400 {
+        unit(s / 3_600, "hour")
+    } else if s < 604_800 {
+        unit(s / 86_400, "day")
+    } else if s < 2_592_000 {
+        unit(s / 604_800, "week")
+    } else if s < 31_536_000 {
+        unit(s / 2_592_000, "month")
+    } else {
+        unit(s / 31_536_000, "year")
+    }
+}
+
 /// Strip the namespace prefix off an XML element name. YouTube's feed
 /// is heavily namespaced (`yt:videoId`, `media:thumbnail`) but we only
 /// care about the local part — namespace-vs-local distinguishing