Our 9 Favorite Feature Stories This Week: Heroin, Oil And The West Wing

This week for BuzzReads, John Knefel rides along with the advocates who are fighting to make heroin use safer. Read that and these other great stories from around BuzzFeed and the web.

1. The Controversial Answer to America's Heroin Surge — BuzzFeed

Macey J. Foronda / BuzzFeed

With heroin use at epidemic levels, harm reduction — a bold, long-contested approach to treating addicts — is gaining political traction. But are we ready to make it easier to shoot heroin even if it means fewer deaths? Read it at BuzzFeed.

2. Jane Kleeb vs. the Keystone Pipeline — New York Times Magazine

Credit Michael Friberg for The New York Times

A profile of the woman who's become the unlikely — and formidable — opponent of TransCanada: "what has kept the pipeline out of the ground so far, more than anything, has been Kleeb’s ability to convince mostly­ conservative farmers and ranchers that they are the ones being asked to bear all the risk of Canada’s energy expansion." Read it at the New York Times Magazine.

3. West Wing Uncensored — Hollywood Reporter

NBCU Photo Bank / Getty Images

Before The West Wing, there had never been a drama about Washington, D.C., that succeeded. Aaron Sorkin, Rob Lowe, and others from the cast explain the show the paved the way for House of Cards and Veep and Scandal. Read it at the Hollywood Reporter.

4. Juvenile Injustice — The Center for Public Integrity

J. Miles Cary/Knoxville News Sentinel

Tens of thousands of kids report in court each year for having committed infractions — like truancy, running away, underage drinking, or drug use. Unlike criminal offenders, Susan Ferriss reports, they don't have a right to counsel, which can have major repercussions. Read it at The Center for Public Integrity.

5. Building a Bigger Action Hero — Men's Journal

Via mensjournal.com

"For much of Hollywood history," writes Logan Hill, "only women's bodies were objectified to such absurd degrees. Now objectification makes no gender distinctions: Male actors' bare asses are more likely to be shot in sex scenes; their vacation guts and poolside man boobs are as likely to command a sneering full-page photo in a celebrity weekly's worst-bodies feature, or go viral as a source of Web ridicule." Read it at Men's Journal.

6. Anna Kendrick — Fast Company

Via fastcompany.com

Josh Eells profiles the actress: "Each of the actresses in Kendrick's loose cohort has forged a connection with her fans in her own distinct way. [Jennifer] Lawrence does it by charming talk-show audiences with embarrassing anecdotes and navigating awards-show red carpets like they're filled with marbles wrapped in banana peels. [Lena] Dunham does it with her brilliantly honest HBO show, Girls, and her liberty with her body. And Kendrick does it via the Internet." Read it at Fast Company.

7. The Woman Who KO’d Manny Pacquiao — BuzzFeed

eff Bottari / Getty Images

One of the very few women judges in boxing history rose to the pinnacle of her sport, judging dozens of title fights, until two controversial decisions ended it all. Joel Anderson tells the story of CJ Ross. Read it at BuzzFeed.

8. The Undefeated Champions of Defeat City — GQ

Doug Dubois for GQ

Kathy Dobie reports from crime-ridden Camden, N.J., where an unlikely little league is reviving parks — and spirits. Read it at GQ.

9. Eric LeGrand's Biggest Fight — BuzzFeed

Patrick McDermott / Getty Images

Four years ago, the promising Rutgers defensive lineman was paralyzed from the neck down during a game. Now, Jamie Lisanti writes, he’s battling to win back his body while becoming an inspiration to many. Read it at BuzzFeed.