diff --git a/gnommo/cli.py b/gnommo/cli.py
index 51a8a65..ec7d379 100644
--- a/gnommo/cli.py
+++ b/gnommo/cli.py
@@ -4570,9 +4570,28 @@ def cmd_render(
         return specs
 
     _render_key = f"render:{res}"
-    if _render_gateable and _state.is_current(
+    _render_current = _render_gateable and _state.is_current(
         project_path, _render_key, _state.compute(_render_input_specs()), [output_path]
-    ):
+    )
+
+    # Timestamp guard (make-style): even if the fingerprint matches, re-render
+    # when a key upstream artifact — the stitched narration or its transcript —
+    # is newer than the rendered output. This catches cases the fingerprint
+    # can't: the state file isn't transferred to the render rig (it's a dotfile),
+    # and the combined may live on an external cache disk. If the previous stage
+    # produced a newer file, the render is stale regardless of recorded state.
+    if _render_current and output_path.exists():
+        try:
+            _out_mtime = output_path.stat().st_mtime
+            for _dep in (resolved_combined, transcript_path):
+                if _dep and Path(_dep).exists() and Path(_dep).stat().st_mtime > _out_mtime:
+                    print(f"  {Path(_dep).name} is newer than the render — regenerating.")
+                    _render_current = False
+                    break
+        except OSError:
+            _render_current = False
+
+    if _render_current:
         print(f"\n[4/4] Output up to date: {output_path}")
         print("  (inputs unchanged since last render — use --force to re-render)")
         print("\nDone.")