diff --git a/backend/shonar/services/processing.py b/backend/shonar/services/processing.py
index cf888ca..25a1a13 100644
--- a/backend/shonar/services/processing.py
+++ b/backend/shonar/services/processing.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import logging
 import uuid
+from datetime import timedelta
 
 from sqlalchemy import func, select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
@@ -47,6 +48,11 @@ logger = logging.getLogger("shonar.processing")
 
 MAX_TRIES = 3
 
+# A `running` job younger than this is treated as live work, not a crash
+# relic — long transcriptions legitimately outrun the 5-minute sweep, and
+# re-enqueuing them mid-flight caused a copy storm (one whisper per copy).
+STALE_RUNNING_AFTER = timedelta(hours=2)
+
 
 # --- entry -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -140,11 +146,28 @@ async def transport_enqueue(job_type: JobType, recording_id: uuid.UUID) -> None:
     queue and the worker sweep picks up anything the transport missed."""
     from arq import create_pool
     from arq.connections import RedisSettings
+    from arq.constants import result_key_prefix
 
+    job_id = f"{job_type.value}:{recording_id}"
     try:
         pool = await create_pool(RedisSettings.from_dsn(get_settings().redis_url))
         try:
-            await pool.enqueue_job("run_" + job_type.value, str(recording_id))
+            # Deterministic _job_id: arq refuses a duplicate while a copy of
+            # (job_type, recording) is queued or running, so sweep pokes and
+            # retried enqueues can never pile up concurrent copies of the
+            # same work.
+            #
+            # arq dedupes on job key OR result key, and failed runs leave a
+            # result behind for keep_result days — that would silently swallow
+            # deliberate re-runs of previously-finished work. Drop only the
+            # stale RESULT key first (never the job key: that is exactly what
+            # shields a live copy from duplicate enqueue).
+            await pool.delete(result_key_prefix + job_id)
+            await pool.enqueue_job(
+                "run_" + job_type.value,
+                str(recording_id),
+                _job_id=job_id,
+            )
         finally:
             await pool.aclose()
     except Exception as e:  # noqa: BLE001 — transport must never break uploads
@@ -437,11 +460,20 @@ async def sweep_stale(limit: int = 100) -> int:
             if rec is None or rec.deleted_at is not None:
                 job.status = JobStatus.skipped
                 continue
-            if job.status == JobStatus.running and job.attempt >= MAX_TRIES:
-                job.status = JobStatus.failed
-                job.error = "Worker died too many times."
-                job.finished_at = utcnow()
-                continue
+            if job.status == JobStatus.running:
+                if job.attempt >= MAX_TRIES:
+                    job.status = JobStatus.failed
+                    job.error = "Worker died too many times."
+                    job.finished_at = utcnow()
+                    continue
+                # Live work, not a crash relic: a running job that started
+                # recently belongs to a worker still chewing it (long audio
+                # outruns the sweep cadence). Only orphaned runs — no
+                # started_at, or older than the grace window — get requeued.
+                if job.started_at is not None and (
+                    utcnow() - job.started_at
+                ) < STALE_RUNNING_AFTER:
+                    continue
             job.status = JobStatus.queued
             job.error = None
             count += 1
diff --git a/backend/shonar/worker.py b/backend/shonar/worker.py
index 68fcef6..31b2c4e 100644
--- a/backend/shonar/worker.py
+++ b/backend/shonar/worker.py
@@ -60,3 +60,8 @@ class WorkerSettings:
     # Retry budget for transient provider failures; the tasks themselves
     # mark jobs failed on the last try (see processing.MAX_TRIES).
     max_tries = 3
+    # One job per worker process at a time. Local faster-whisper is
+    # multi-GB per concurrent pass; default max_jobs=10 let one worker run
+    # ~8 transcriptions at once and OOM-swap the box. Scale by running more
+    # worker processes, never by raising this.
+    max_jobs = 1
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_ai_pipeline.py b/backend/tests/test_ai_pipeline.py
index c4c1af7..52e4755 100644
--- a/backend/tests/test_ai_pipeline.py
+++ b/backend/tests/test_ai_pipeline.py
@@ -359,6 +359,41 @@ async def test_sweep_requeues_stale_jobs(client, monkeypatch):
     assert jobs[JobType.summarize].status == JobStatus.queued
 
 
+async def test_sweep_leaves_live_running_jobs_alone(client, monkeypatch):
+    """Regression: sweep re-enqueued every in-flight transcription every
+    5 minutes; with local whisper each copy ran concurrently and one worker
+    OOM-swap-swelled the box. A running job started recently is live work."""
+    from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
+
+    use_fakes(monkeypatch, FakeTranscriber(), FakeLlm())
+    token = await user_tokens(client)
+    rec = await upload_recording(client, token, client_id="m7-sweep-live")
+    rid = uuid.UUID(rec["id"])
+    async with db_session._session_factory() as s:
+        from shonar.db.models import Recording
+
+        row = await s.get(Recording, rid)
+        await processing.reset_or_create(s, row, JobType.transcribe)
+        live = (await s.scalars(
+            select(ProcessingJob).where(
+                ProcessingJob.recording_id == rid,
+                ProcessingJob.job_type == JobType.transcribe)
+        )).one()
+        live.status = JobStatus.running
+        live.started_at = datetime.now(UTC)  # worker is chewing it right now
+        stale = ProcessingJob(recording_id=rid, job_type=JobType.summarize,
+                              status=JobStatus.running, attempt=1)
+        stale.started_at = datetime.now(UTC) - timedelta(
+            hours=processing.STALE_RUNNING_AFTER.total_seconds() / 3600 + 1)
+        s.add(stale)
+        await s.commit()
+    count = await processing.sweep_stale()
+    assert count == 1  # only the orphaned old run
+    jobs = await jobs_for(rec["id"])
+    assert jobs[JobType.transcribe].status == JobStatus.running
+    assert jobs[JobType.summarize].status == JobStatus.queued
+
+
 # --- ownership ---------------------------------------------------------------------