The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Jan 26-Feb 1

The Power of Two By Andy Kroll, National JournalAmerica has never seen a political team quite like the Castro brothers.

Not a Very PC Thing to SayBy Jonathan Chait, New York MagzineHow the language police are perverting liberalism

The Last Relevant Blogger By Brian Merchant, MotherboardBefore he was voted Hipster of the Decade, before he was coining musical subgenres and helping the New York Times understand “alt” culture, Carles was another mid-00s music blogger who just wanted to get his site listed on Hype Machine. The music discovery engine uses an algorithm to pull the “most-blogged about” songs from the web—if your site makes the cut, you are officially an “influencer.” Carles was definitely that, for a while.

Wake No MoreBy Virginia Hughes, MediumWhat if you could sleep 50 hours straight and still never feel truly awake? Welcome to the bizarre, distressing, and totally exhausting world of the hypersomniac.

What Can a Pregnant Photojournalist Cover? Everything By Lynsey Addario, New York Times MagazineYou have two options when you approach a hostile checkpoint in a war zone, and each is a gamble. The first is to stop and identify yourself as a journalist and hope that you are respected as a neutral observer. The second is to blow past the checkpoint and hope the soldiers guarding it don’t open fire on you.

Dying To Be FreeBy Jason Cherkis, Huffington PostThere’s A Treatment For Heroin Addiction That Actually Works. Why Aren’t We Using It?

Your Son Is DeceasedBy Rachel Aviv, New YorkerThe city has one of the highest rates in the country of fatal shootings by police, but no officer has been indicted.