Our 9 Favorite Feature Stories This Week: A New Face, A Wrongful Conviction, And Clowns

This week for BuzzReads, Leigh Cowart journeys into a big clown convention's novelty-sized heart of darkness. Read that and these other stories from around BuzzFeed and the web.

1. Don't Be Afraid of Clowns — BuzzFeed

Armando L. Sanchez for BuzzFeed

If the art and business of clowning are in cultural decline, that’s news to the seasoned, red-nosed faithful at this year’s World Clown Association gathering in Chicago. The next generation has big shoes to fill. Read it at BuzzFeed.

2. The New Face of Richard Norris — GQ

Photo: Splash News/ Corbis

An extremely well done piece about a man who received a full face transplant years after he shot himself — which, Jeanne Marie Laskas discovers was only one of the curious things about him. Read it at GQ.

3. Crime Fiction — New Yorker

Photograph by Stefan Ruiz for the New Yorker

An engrossing story by Nicholas Schmidle about a Chicago man who was allegedly coerced by police into confessing a crime he didn't commit. Was this an isolated incident or just one of many convictions that should be potentially overturned? Read it at the New Yorker.

4. How A One-Time Pig Peddler Helped The U.S. Flood War Zones With Guns — BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed

The U.S. government is one of the world’s biggest buyers of AK-47s and other Soviet bloc weapons, which it has poured into Afghanistan, Iraq, and other hot spots. Aram Roston delivers an exclusive look at a strange string of U.S.-backed arms deals. Read it at BuzzFeed.

5. Corporate Cats Still Suck: The Improbable Tale of Indie Superkitty Lil BUB — Spin

Photograph by Rebecca Smeyne for Spin

A fun piece by Camille Dodero: "As brands, Grumpy is corporate, Lil BUB is independent. As image macros, Grumpy's caption refuses NO, Lil BUB's affirms YES." Read it at Spin.

6. Borgore Wants You To Know That He “Fucking Loves Women” — BuzzFeed

Photograph by Yael Malka for BuzzFeed

A popular Israeli DJ-producer widely criticized for misogynist lyrics is EDM’s most despised man and the poster child for the culture’s most controversial tendencies. Stacey Anderson asks: why doesn’t he see the problem? Read it at BuzzFeed.

7. The Future of Iced Coffee — Atlantic

theatlantic.com

Alexis C. Madrigal investigates the history of American coffee and the San Francisco company — and the man behind it — that may represent its next wave: "Can Freeman turn Blue Bottle into Starbucks without … turning it into Starbucks?" Read it at the Atlantic.

8. The Unforgotten — The Boston Globe

Jessica Rinaldi / The Boston Globe

Along the U.S./Mexico border, forensics teams are trying to identify the hundreds of unidentified dead. Maria Sacchetti reports on the families still hoping that one of their loved ones will be found. Read it at the Boston Globe.

9. Selfless Portrait: Man Leaves $150M to City of Elkhart — Indianapolis Monthly

Indianapolis Monthly

When David Gundlach died, he left a fortune to his hometown. But his old neighbors are still trying to find out who he really was. Read it at Indianapolis Monthly.