Our 9 Favorite Feature Stories This Week: The Yid Army, Sia And Two Guys Named Steve

This week for BuzzReads, David Peisner considers a British soccer club's anti-Semitic nickname and explores whether chanting it should be made illegal. Read that and these other stories from BuzzFeed and the rest of the web.

1. The Yid Army Goes to War — BuzzFeed

Cal Sport Media / Landov

Is Tottenham Hotspur’s nickname an anti-Semitic slur that should get its fans arrested, a misunderstood tradition, or a rousing cry for Jewish pride? Whatever the answer, it has become a flashpoint for discussion of free speech, civility, and the public image of an increasingly lucrative sport. Read it at BuzzFeed.

2. The Internet Is Being Protected By Two Guys Named Steve — BuzzFeed

Justine Zwiebel / BuzzFeed

Chris Stokel-Walker reports on how the Heartbleed bug has put the spotlight on OpenSSL, the security toolkit used by many of the internet’s biggest sites and looked after primarily by two men who’ve never met in person. For the first time, Steve Marquess and Stephen Henson speak about how they became the overworked, underpaid stewards of our online security. Read it at BuzzFeed.

3. "Ugh. I miss it." — Washington Post

Photograph by Matt McClain for the Washington Post

A haunting portrait by Eli Saslow of a veteran trying to acclimate to civilian life, and the numerous challenges he faces. "Like so many vets, they missed the camaraderie. And as with so many vets, their lives at home were defined less by togetherness than by isolation, which took on many forms." Read it at the Washington Post.

4. What Michael Did — Toronto Star

Via projects.thestar.com

Amy Dempsey reports on a Ontario family ripped apart twelve years ago when the grown middle child, a schizophrenic, murdered his mother. "How does a family learn to live with a loss of such magnitude while occupying conflicting roles: husband, daughter and sons of the victim, and also father, sister and brothers of the killer?" Read it at the Toronto Star.

5. Inside Bryan Singer’s Wild Hollywood World — BuzzFeed

Herman / Splash News (Egan), Tommaso Boddi / WireImage (Singer)

Known for surrounding himself with beautiful young men, X-Men director Bryan Singer has found his private life under intense scrutiny due to a lawsuit alleging sex abuse. Adam B. Vary investigates Singer’s tangled network of power, money, sex, and gay Hollywood. Read it at BuzzFeed.

6. Sia Furler, the Socially Phobic Pop Star — New York Times

Illustration by Jenny Morgan, based on a photograph by Cindy Ord / Getty Images. / Via nytimes.com

Steve Knopper profiles the reclusive musician who has struggled with addiction and doesn't crave fame. "Writing for others allowed Furler to hide in plain sight for years." Read it at the New York Times.

7. Enduring Guilt — ESPN The Magazine

Illustration by Alexander Wells for ESPN The Magazine

Ten years ago athlete-turned-soldier Pat Tillman was accidentally killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. Mike Fish explores how that happened, and how the lives of his family and those implicated in his death are still intertwined. Read it at ESPN The Magazine.

8. The Mind Readers — Medium

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In an article that originally appeared in Mosaic Science, Roger Highfield discusses the doctors working to free apparently vegetative patients who, brain scans reveal, can still think and feel: "The number of patients with disorders of consciousness has soared in recent decades, ironically, because of the rise and success of intensive care and medical technologies." Read it at Medium.

9. Mystery Science 3000: The Definitive History of a TV Masterpiece — Wired

Platon / Via wired.com

Creator Joel Hodgson, eventual host Mike J. Nelson and more lend their perspectives on the cult television program. Brian Raftery writes: "At a time when depictions of geekery were limited mostly to Urkel and Comic Book Guy, the denizens of the Satellite of Love were brazenly brainy—which explains why MST3K’s fan base reportedly included such meganerds as Al Gore and Patton Oswalt." Read it at Wired.