The Week’s Best Longreads for Jan. 19, 2013

Manti Teo’s Dead Girlfriend
Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey, Deadspin

The most heartbreaking and inspiring story of the college football season is a hoax.

Which Way Did the Taliban Go?
Luke Mogelson, The New York Times Magazine

Digging out roadside bombs, running into ambushes and dancing with deranged informants—a week in the life of an Afghan National Army battalion, on its own in the wilderness.

The Party Faithful
David Remnick, The New Yorker

The settlers move to annex the West Bank—and Israeli politics.

Coming Home
John Dickerson, Slate

Returning to parenting after 16 months on the campaign trail.

The Ins and the Outs
Vinnie Rotondaro and Maura Ewing, Narratively

Along one of New York's most rapidly changing boulevards, a look below the surface exposes what—and who—is really driving gentrification in Crown Heights.

The Second Coming
Evan Thomas, Newsweek

These are gloomy times for an inauguration. On Monday, can the president rise to the occasion with a historically inspiring message?

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