The Week’s Best Longreads for March 16, 2013

The Professor, the Bikini Model, and the Suitcase Full of Trouble
Maxine Swann, The New York Times Magazine

A world-renowned physicist meets a gorgeous model online. They plan their perfect life together. But first, she asks, would he be so kind as to deliver a special package to her?

A Mysterious Mississippi Murder
Ben Terris, National Journal

It’s tempting to think Marco McMillian was killed because of his race, his sexuality, or because he was running for mayor. The truth is more elusive.

Excuse Us While We Kiss The Sky
Matthew Power, GQ

By day they work as computer programmers and stock boys and academics. But at night they are known as urban explorers. The Brooklyn Bridge, London's Shard, Notre Dame—each structure is an expedition waiting to happen.

The Informant
Kevin Charles Redmond, Washingtonian

It was one of the worst killing sprees in Washington history. The defendants stood accused of killing five young people and wounding eight. The case against them hinged on the testimony of their accomplice Nathaniel Simms. What made him break the code of the streets and help send his friends to prison?

A Tale of Two Londons
Nicholas Shaxson, Vanity Fair

Who really lives at One Hyde Park, called the world’s most expensive residential building? Its mostly absentee owners, hiding behind offshore corporations based in tax havens, provide a portrait of the new global super-wealthy.

We Have a Pope
A.N. Wilson, Newsweek

A Jesuit pope, a golden opportunity for change.

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