The Week’s Best Longreads: The Daily Beast Picks for November 24, 2012

From the struggles of a long-shot NFL hopeful to the dangers of a permanent Democratic majority, The Daily Beast picks the best post-election journalism from around the Web this week.

The Man Who Charged Himself With Murder
Jennifer Gonnerman, New York

Trevell Coleman wasn’t sure whether he’d killed a man. But after seventeen years, he needed to find out.

Is This It?
John B. Judis, The New Republic

The agonies and ecstasy of a permanent Democratic majority.

The Hard Life of an NFL Longshot
Charles Siebert, The New York Times Magazine

The story of a rookie hanging on to the fragile hope of a professional football career, as told by his uncle.

Were the Pilgrims Thankful for Spirochete?
Madeleine Johnson, Slate

A gruesome disease granted them uninhabited, cleared land and a sweet brook.

The Expendables
William Langeweische, Vanity Fair

It’s the dark romance of the French Foreign Legion: haunted men from everywhere, fighting anywhere, dying for causes not their own.

12 Ways to Stop the Next Sandy
David Cay Johnston, Newsweek

Far greater disasters loom—unless we move fast to fix a badly broken system. David Cay Johnston lists a dozen possible solutions, from building seawalls to getting tough on AT&T.

For more great longreads, visit our friends at Longreads.com.