The Most Astonishing Stories You Can't Miss This Week

Paying homage to a beloved movie by selling thousands of tickets for a weekend-long, city-wide recreation takes military precision and logistical expertise. But David Blanchard has never done anything like this before. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

Nikole Hannah-Jones explains why, decades after Brown v. Board of Education, schools across the country are more segregated than ever — and what the individual choices of parents can do to change that. "True integration, true equality, requires a surrendering of advantage, and when it comes to our own children, that can feel almost unnatural." Read it at The New York Times Magazine.

Joseph Bernstein meets Jay Leiderman, a medical marijuana and criminal defense lawyer who has made himself into the country’s leading defender of hackers. Can he save his clients from the worst law in technology — and themselves? Read it at BuzzFeed News.

Chicago's Profiles Theatre has garnered critical acclaim for its "real," often violent and sexual productions. In an explosive investigation, Aimee Levitt and Christopher Piatt reveal that the abusive antics of its artistic director extend beyond the stage. "It was real because there was a psychopath on stage." Read it at Chicago Reader.

The AIDS epidemic can be ended with current drugs — in theory. Jon Cohen visits a rural village in Zimbabwe that has figured out how to help in a simple, low-tech, and inexpensive way. Read it at BuzzFeed News.

Was a persistent, female Seattle porn recruiter really the avatar of a male freelance journalist who coerced women into sex? Sydney Brownstone uncovers evidence from at least six women who "auditioned" for Matt Hickey. "He was like, 'Well, we have to have sex, because if we don't then how am I going to know you're for real?'" Read it at The Stranger.

In a candid, thoughtful exchange, food writer John T. Edge and chef Tunde Wey discuss the authenticity and appropriation of Southern food. "If I acknowledged the inequities and subjugations on which much of Southern cuisine was built, Tunde asked—was I willing to cede what whites have gained at the expense of blacks?" Read it at Oxford American.

Doree Shafrir reaches back into the People archives to show how different the discussion about Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s “toxic marriage” is shaping up to be. "What People’s framing implies is that Heard, and other survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse, can fight back — and, little by little, change the way these stories are framed by centering them around the victims, rather than the abusers." Read it at BuzzFeed Reader.