9 Longform Stories We're Reading This Week: Singularity University And Danielle Radcliffe

This week BuzzReads takes an in-depth look at the Silicon Valley-based Singularity University, where sci-fi enthused global elite try to discern our technological future. Read that, and these other great stories from BuzzFeed and around the web.

1. Sci-Fi, Religion, and Silicon Valley's Quest for Higher Learning at Singularity University — BuzzReads

Courtesy of the Singularity University

Contributor Eric Benson goes inside the $12,000 weeklong program that teaches rising entrepreneurs that the secret to success is as simple as being able to tell the future. Read it at BuzzReads.

2. Daniel Radcliffe's Next Trick Is to Make Harry Potter Disappear — The New York Times Magazine

Luca Locatelli for The New York Times

A fantastic and revealing profile by Susan Dominus: "Since the Potter movies ended, Radcliffe has thrown himself into a frenzy of projects, at times working 90-hour weeks and rarely taking vacations. He seems intent on proving that he is, if not worthy of the golden ticket he received at age 10 (because who could be), at least working as hard as anyone could to show he won’t squander his fame." Read it at The New York Times Magazine.

3. Breaking Good — ESPN The Magazine

Kenneth Jarecke for espn.go.com

Paul Kix brings the story of the anti-Walter White, Joe O'Brien, a lauded college football coach and former all-American player who was busted for using — and dealing — meth. After years in prison, his community reluctantly came around and let him coach again. Read it at ESPN The Magazine.

4. The Elvis Impersonator, the Karate Instructor, a Fridge Full of Severed Heads, and the Plot 2 Kill the President — GQ

David Sandlin for gq.com

Remember last spring's crazy story about the Elvis impersonator in Mississippi who supposedly mailed ricin to Obama — but was really framed by a karate instructor? Wells Tower went down to Tupelo to try and piece together what happened. Read it at GQ.

5. Fall Back — Complex

Photograph by Andrew Curtraro / Via complex.com

A stunningly presented profile of the controversial rapper Danny Brown, whose second album Old has just been released. Read it at Complex.

6. The Inside Story Of One Website’s Defense Of Assad — BuzzFeed

John Gara for buzzfeed.com

A small Minnesota news outlet caused a storm when it ran a story claiming Syria’s rebels carried out a chemical attack near Damascus in August. Rosie Gray and Jessica Testa take a look inside the murky world of Mint Press News. Read it at BuzzFeed.

7. Now Ten Years Old, 4Chan is the Most Important Site You Never Visit — The Daily Dot

dailydot.com

Christopher Poole founded the controversial website when he was just 15; a decade later, it's been responsible for some of the internet's most famous memes — like RickRoll and I Can Haz Cheezburger— as well as some of its greatest scandals. Read it at The Daily Dot.

8. Out of the Dark: One Gay Latino Couple's Battle Through One of the Worst Immigration Eras — BuzzFeed

Marin Watts for buzzfeed.com

DOMA’s end means tens of thousands of same-sex binational couples can finally apply for green cards. For Pablo García Gámez and Santiago Ortiz, who have feared deportation would separate them for two decades, this news is welcome, but it’s a reminder of how much they’ve sacrificed to stay together. Read it at BuzzFeed.

9. Irreplaceable You: How Does It Feel To See The Band Of Your Dreams Reunite? — BuzzFeed

buzzfeed.com

Amy Rose Spiegel was a year old when her favorite band — the Replacements — broke up. Now, over two decades later she gets the chance to finally see them live; will they be the same band? Read it at BuzzFeed.