Audition CC 2021 - high CPU usage, Mac kernel panics

Since upgrading my 2019 iMac to Big Sur, I notice that CPU usage runs over 90% while using Audition, whether I’m recording a single track or editing multitrack files. I have been getting kernel panics a lot, sometimes several times a day.

The pattern: I record a podcast segment (a 5–30 minute voiceover) and notice that my fans are blowing hard. I stop and save my work, close the file and a few seconds later, The screen goes black as the Mac reboots.

I have 128 GB of RAM and a 2 TB internal SSD installed. All working files are captured to an external SSD.

I welcome any help with this, especially suggestions to reduce CPU usage as that seems to be the culprit.